GIFT   OF 
MICHAEL  REESE 


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in  2008  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


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BETWEEN  THE  ANDES 
AND  THE  OCEAN 


AN  ACCOUNT  OF  AN  INTEREST- 
ING JOURNEY  DOWN  THE  WEST 
COAST  OF  SOUTH  AMERICA  FROM 
THE  ISTHMUS  OF  PANAMA  TO 
THE  STRAITS   OF    MAGELLAN 


BY 


WILLIAM     ELEROY     CURTIS 

AUTHOR  OF    "THE  YANKEES   OF   THE   EAST,"    "THE  CAPITALS    OF    SPANISH 

AMERICA,"    "VENEZUELA,  THE    LAND   WHERE  IT   IS 

ALWAYS   SUMMER,"    ETC.,    BTC. 


HERBERT   S.  STONE   AND   COMPANY 

ELDRIDGE   COURT,  CHICAGO 

MDCCCC 


^ 


^'>> 


F^? 


COPYRIGHT,    1900,    BY 
HERBERT     S.    STONE   &    CO 


THE  CONTENTS  OF  THIS  VOLUME  ORIGINALLY  AP- 
PEARED IN  THE  COLUMNS  OF  THE  CHICAGO  RECORD 
AND  ARE  REPUBLISHED  IN  THIS  FORM  WITH  THE 
KIND      PERMISSION     OF     MR.      VICTOR     F.      LAWSON 


TO 

MY  BELOVED  DAUGHTER 
ELSIE     EVANS     CURTIS 


REESE 


83597 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTBa  PAGB 

I.  The  Voyage  and  the  Isthmus         .         .         .       i 

II.  Concerning  the  Panama  Canal  ...          13 

III.  The  Ancient  City  of  Panama  and  the  Canal     24 

IV.  Cruising  Along  the  West  Coast         .        .          42 
V.  The  Deceptive  City  of  Guayaquil          .         .     62 

VI.  The  President  and   Government  of  Ecuador    81 

VII.  The  Zona  Seca  of  South  America     .         .         92 

VIII.  The  City  of  the  Three  Kings         .         .            no 

IX.  Peru  in  Peace  and  Prosperity    .         .         .        127 

X.  The  Congress  of  Peru  in  Session    .          ,           146 

XI.  The  State  of  the  Church  ....        162 

XII.  The  Monks  and  the  Monasteries    .         .            177 

XIII.  The  Remarkable  Railways  of  Peru   .         .        195 

XIV.  The  Mecca  of  a  Prehistoric  Race  206 
XV.  Over  the  Deserts  and  Mountains  to  Bolivia  218 

XVI.  The  Quaint  Old  City  of  Arequipa     .         .        235 

XVII.  Cuzco,  THE  Capital  of  the  Incas   .         .            253 

XVIII.  From  Lake  Titicaca  to  La  Paz          .         .        265 

XIX.  The  City  of  La  Paz          ....            287 

XX.  Political  and   Social    Conditions  in  Bolivia  310 

XXI.  CopocoBANA — Shrine  of  the  Patron  Saint  of 

South  America 329 

XXII.  The  Nitrate  Deserts  of  Chile        .         .            353 

XXIII.  The  City  of  Valparaiso        ....        371 

XXIV.  Santiago,  the  Capital  of  Chile      .         .         .  384 
XXV.  The  President  and  the  Government  of  Chile  403 

XXVI.  The  Backbone  of  the  Continent     .         .             414 

XXVII.  Southern  Chile  and  Tierra  del  Fuego      .        429 


^^         OR  THa  ^*  . 

UNIVERSITY 


Between  the  Andes  and  the  Ocean 


THE  VOYAGE  AND  THE  ISTHMUS 

It  takes  from  six  to  seven  days  to  make  the  journey  of 
1,970  miles  from  New  York  to  the  isthmus.  You  might  go 
from  New  Orleans  in  three  days  and  from  Tampa  in  two. 
The  Illinois  Central  Railway  and  the  Plant  Company  would 
put  on  lines  of  vessels  to  bring  freight  for  their  railway  trains, 
but  for  the  quarantine  regulations,  which  make  traffic  during 
the  summer  months  almost  impossible,  at  least  impracticable. 

There  is  always  more  or  less  fever  in  the  isthmus.  It  is 
difficult  to  keep  it  away,  for  Colon  and  Panama  catch  human 
driftwood  from  all  over  the  American  continent,  and  are  the 
asylum  for  refugees  from  plagues  as  well  as  politics.  When  a 
man  is  run  out  of  any  of  the  west-coast  countries  or  Central 
America  for  any  reason  he  always  strikes  for  Panama.  It  has 
a  fine,  large  hotel,  indifferently  kept,  but  commodious,  and  a 
number  of  handsome  residences  that  may  be  rented  for  short 
terms,  like  the  houses  in  Washington  and  London  for  the 
season.  If  their  walls  could  talk  they  might  tell  interesting 
tales  of  intrigue  and  conspiracy,  for  since  the  days  when 
Pedrarias,  governor  of  the  first  colony  on  the  American  conti- 
nent, overthrew  Balboa  in  a  shameful  manner,  Panama  has 
sheltered  adventurers  and  conspirators. 

If  you  will  look  at  the  map  you  will  notice  how  readily  the 
steamers  might  run  down  from  New  Orleans  and  Tampa,  and 
it  would  be  easy  to  establish  a  system  of  sanitary  inspection 
that  would  prevent  the  transportation  of  disease  germs  among 


2        BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE  OCEAN 

the  passengers  and  freight.  Havana  has  always  been  much 
worse  than  Colon  or  Panama  as  a  hotbed  of  yellow  fever,  and 
yet,  under  the  vigilance  of  the  marine  hospital  service,  the 
Plant  steamers  have  run  back  and  forth  every  night  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  without  ever  having  carried  a  case  of  contagion. 

It  would  be  a  great  thing  for  the  Mississippi  Valley  to  have 
a  line  of  steamers  from  New  Orleans  to  the  isthmus.  Most  of 
the  freight  in  the  hold  of  the  good  ship  Finance  that  brought 
us  down  originated  west  of  the  Allegheny  mountains.  It 
should  have  gone  to  its  market  on  longitudinal  lines. 

The  voyage  from  New  York  is  delightful.  People  always 
expect  a  little  weather  off  Cape  Hatteras,  but  the  captain  of 
our  ship  said  that  was  a  popular  delusion.  He  declared  that 
Hatteras  has  no  more  storms  than  any  other  point  on  the 
earth's  surface.  The  land  projects  into  the  Atlantic  and 
makes  nasty  sailing  along  that  coast  in  bad  weather,  and  there 
have  been  terrible  disasters  from  time  to  time;  therefore. 
Captain  Sukeforth  says  that  Cape  Hatteras  has  unjustly  got  a 
bad  name.  He  has  been  sailing  this  course  for  a  number  of 
years — I  have  forgotten  how  many — and  declares  that  he  has 
never  met  with  a  gale  in  the  latitude  of  Hatteras. 

The  severe  weather  of  Hatteras  is  also  due  to  the  fact  that 
it  lies  in  the  track  of  what  are  called  the  southwest  storms; 
that  is,  storms  that  advance  from  the  southwest  and  move 
northeastward.  They  are  called  northeasters  on  the  Atlantic 
coast  and  are  the  severest  of  storms.  Hatteras  is  in  their 
direct  path,  just  as  Chicago  is  in  the  direct  path  of  storms 
that  advance  from  the  west,  and  very  near  the  path  of  all 
the  storms  that  come  down  from  the  northwest.  Taking  the 
wind  velocity  for  a  month,  Chicago  exceeds  Hatteras  by  about 
3,000  miles. 

The  weather  grows  warmer  day  by  day  as  you  go  south- 
ward on  the  sea  as  well  as  on  the  land,  and  you  put  on  lighter 
clothing  and  rejoice  that  your  stateroom  is  on  the  deck,  where 
the  trade  winds,  which  a  bountiful  Providence  provided  to 
temper  the  heat  of  the  tropics,  can  blow  through  the  slats  of 
your  door  and  window  blinds.  The  water  is  a  dense  indigo 
blue  and  very  deep.      You  cross  the   deepest  part   of  the 


THE  VOYAGE  AND   THE   ISTHMUS  3 

Atlantic  Ocean.  The  days  and  nights  are  almost  of  equal 
length ;  the  sunsets  are  as  gorgeous  as  any  you  can  see  on  the 
Mediterranean,  and  there  is  no  twilight.  The  sun  rises 
promptly  and  without  premonition  at  the  hour  appointed  in 
the  almanac,  and  when  he  has  finished  his  day's  work  he  drops 
below  the  horizon  just  as  a  tired  sailor  tumbles  into  his  bunk 
when  his  watch  is  over. 

From  New  York  the  steamer  takes  a  course  due  south  until 
it  "picks  up"  a  light  at  Cape  Maysi,  at  the  tip  end  of  Cuba, 
and  then  the  course  is  turned  a  little  to  the  southwest,  passing 
east  of  Jamaica.  The  first  land  you  see  is  Watling's  Island, 
where  Columbus  stumbled  upon  a  new  world,  and  you  are 
near  enough  to  make  out  a  tall  lighthouse  striped  like  a  stick 
of  candy,  with  the  broad-eaved  cottage  of  the  keeper  sitting 
on  the  rocks  at  its  feet.  There  is  a  small  settlement  of  white 
people  and  negroes  on  Watling's  Island,  which  belongs  to  the 
British,  a  schoolhouse,  a  little  chapel  sustained  by  the  Church 
of  England  and  a  magistrate  who  represents  the  sovereignty 
of  Queen  Victoria  under  the  supervision  of  the  governor  of 
the  Bahamas,  whose  headquarters  are  at  Nassau,  New  Provi- 
dence. 

Investigations  that  were  made  at  the  time  of  the  World's 
Fair  settled  the  long  controversy  about  the  landfall  of  Colum- 
bus to  the  satisfaction  of  nearly  all  Geographers.  Rudolph 
Cronau,  a  German  scientist ;  Fred  A.  Ober,  an  American ;  and 
the  superintendent  of  the  lighthouse  service  in  the  Bahamas, 
a  British  naval  officer.  Captain  E.  Scobell  Clapp,  made 
thorough  explorations  with  the  logbook  of  Columbus  as  their 
guide.  They  visited  all  the  other  islands  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, but  none  corresponded  in  any  way  with  the  descriptions 
given  by  the  admiral,  while  Watling's  seemed  to  fit  it  exactly 
— even  the  coral  reefs  and  the  lagoons  that  gave  him  so  much 
difficulty. 

The  light  that  Columbus  saw  the  night  before  the  discovery 
was  undoubtedly  a  torch  in  the  hand  of  some  faithful  fisher- 
wife  held  up  to  guide  her  husband  home,  and  Albert  Bierstadt 
spent  several  weeks  at  Watling's  painting  a  picture  to  com«- 
memorate  the  Columbian  anniversary  and  to  give  that  worthy 


4       BETWEEN   THE   ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

woman  an  appropriate  place  in  history.  The  members  of  the 
board  of  lady  managers  from  New  York  State  adopted  her 
and  her  torch  as  a  design  for  their  seal,  and  now  I  suppose 
she  is  one  of  us. 

Alter  leaving  Watling's  the  steamer  threads  its  way 
through  the  Bahama  archipelago  and  gives  the  passengers  a 
panorama  of  picturesque  rocks,  groves  of  cocoanut  trees, 
groups  of  villages  where  the  sponge  fishers  live  and  lonely 
lighthouses  that  guide  the  commerce  on  a  course  that  is  fol- 
lowed by  many  vessels.  We  pass  very  close  to  Navassa,  a 
phosphate  rock  that  rises  out  of  the  ocean  in  a  conspicuous 
manner,  and  is  celebrated  in  the  history  of  the  pirates  of  the 
Spanish  main,  who  used  it  as  a  rendezvous  and  often  marooned 
mutineers  and  prisoners  there. 

Until  the  annexation  of  the  Hawaiian  Islands  Navassa 
was  the  only  outlying  piece  of  territory  owned  by  the  United 
States,  and  became  our  property  many  years  ago  by  an  act  of 
congress  which  extended  the  sovereignty  of  Uncle  Sam  over 
any  uninhabited  island  of  the  ocean  which  might  be  found 
valuable  by  Americans  engaged  in  mining  phosphates  and 
other  minerals.  A  couple  of  islands  off  the  coast  of  Peru 
came  within  this  category,  and  ownership  was  claimed  by  an 
American  discoverer,  but  the  Peruvian  government  objected 
and  we  gave  them  up,  although  the  alleged  owners  remon- 
strated fiercely  about  it.  A  Baltimore  company  is  digging 
phosphate  on  Navassa  and  hauling  it  up  to  fertilizer  factories 
on  the  banks  of  the  Chesapeake  bay. 

The  steamers  of  the  Atlas  line,  which  which  ply  between 
New  York  and  the  northern  ports  of  Central  and  South 
America,  always  stop  at  Fortune  Island  in  the  Bahamas  to 
take  on  a  gang  of  roustabouts  to  handle  their  freight  at 
Carthagena,  Greytown  and  other  places.  The  inhabitants 
of  Fortune  Island  are  chiefly  negroes  who  escaped  in  early 
times  from  slavery  in  Cuba  and  other  of  the  West  India 
Islands.  They  are  industrious,  sober  and  frugal,  and  much 
better  laborers  than  the  natives  on  the  main  coast.  They  are 
paid  fifty  cents  a  day  and  "keep"  by  the  steamships,  which 
they  consider  good  wages.     On  the  voyage  from  New  York 


THE  VOYAGE  AND  THE   ISTHMUS  5 

south  the  steamers  slow  up  as  they  approach  Fortune  Island, 
and  immediately  a  barge  comes  out  from  the  shore,  contain- 
ing twenty-five  or  thirty  robust  black  men  who  clamber  over 
the  decks  and  drop  into  their  familiar  places.  On  the  return 
voyage  they  are  landed  in  a  similar  way  and  have  a  couple  of 
weeks  of  rest  at  home  with  their  families. 

The  keeper  of  the  lighthouse  at  Castle  Island  runs  a  sort 
of  ocean  postoffice.  He  receives  messages,  letters  and  news- 
papers from  passing  vessels  for  others  that  cruise  about  those 
waters.  The  Pacific  Mailers  going  south  from  New  York 
used  to  leave  letters  and  bundles  of  newspapers  for  the  north- 
bound ships  of  the  same  line.  As  most  of  the  vessels  run  on 
schedule  time,  the  lightkeeper  knows  when  to  expect  them 
and  puts  out  in  a  little  boat  when  he  sees  them  coming. 

To  look  at  from  a  distance — from  the  deck  of  a  ship  in  the 
harbor — Colon  is  one  of  the  prettiest  towns  on  the  coast,  but 
when  you  get  ashore  it  is  a  disappointment  and  a  delusion. 
The  houses  are  built  of  wood  instead  of  stone,  as  in  Panama, 
Carthagena  and  the  cities  of  Mexico,  and  most  of  them  are 
painted  a  dull  lead  color,  which  was  adopted  by  the  canal 
company  as  assort  of  trademark,  as  the  Santa  Fe  Company  has 
taken  yellow.  Colon  has  burned  several  times.  The  town 
was  entirely  destroyed  in  1885  and  again  in  1890,  and  many  of 
the  ruins  have  never  been  rebuilt  or  even  cleared  away. 
Some  of  the  most  conspicuous  sites  on  the  main  streets  are 
cellars  filled  with  debris,  weeds  and  stagnant  water.  For 
protection  against  future  disasters  the  railway  company  estab- 
lished a  *'fire  zone,"  that  is,  a  wide  strip  of  land  between  its 
property  and  the  rest  of  the  town,  so  that  the  flames  cannot 
be  so  easily  communicated.  There  are  said  to  be  10,000 
inhabitants,  but  they  must  be  packed  away  very  closely  if  the 
population  is  so  large. 

The  harbor  of  Colon  is  a  lovely  sheet  of  water,  about  two 
miles  across,  and  inclosed  with  beautiful  hills  whose  bright 
green  foliage  never  fades,  and  groups  of  palms  here  and  there 
nod  lazily  to  each  other  as  they  admire  the  reflections  of  their 
own  beauty  in  the  water.  The  palm  is  the  peacock  of  trees. 
It  is  the  most  graceful  thing  that  grows,  and  every  movement 


6       BETWEEN   THE   ANDES  AND  THE   OCEAN 

of  its  plumage  is  on  artistic  lines,  but  you  can't  help  feeling 
that  it  is  vain  and  conceited  and  considers  itself  better  than 
the  bamboos  and  the  ferns  and  other  foliage  you  find  in  the 
tropics. 

Colon  is  one  of  the  few  places  in  South  America  where 
steamers  can  go  up  to  a  dock.  The  Panama  railroad,  the 
Pacific  Mail  and  other  transportation  companies  have  erected 
convenient  and  commodious  warehouses  of  corrugated  iron  in 
which  freight  can  be  transferred  from  the  hold  of  a  steamer 
to  a  railway  car  with  little  trouble  or  effort.  The  packages 
are  classified  as  they  are  taken  on  the  dock.  Roustabouts 
seize  them  as  fast  as  they  are  raised  from  the  hold  and  roll 
their  trucks  before  a  clerk,  who  glances  at  the  addresses, 
checks  them  off,  and  then  directs  each  to  a  car  which  bears 
the  name  of  its  destination.  When  the  cars  are  full  a  little 
engine  that  reminds  one  of  certain  people  comes  snorting  and 
fussing  along  with  a  tremendous  idea  of  its  importance  and 
replaces  the  full  cars  with  empty  ones.  There  is  a  great  deal 
of  commerce.  A  dozen  or  more  steamship  lines  converge 
there  from  all  points  of  the  northern  hemisphere. 

The  harbor  is  dangerous  because  the  entrance  is  toward  the 
north,  and  the  fierce  gales  they  call  "northers"  come  howling 
over  the  Caribbean  sea  two  or  three  times  in  the  winter 
season,  about  as  frequently  as  blizzards  in  our  own  latitude. 
Then  ships  have  to  get  out  and  steam  around  in  the  storm  or 
go  ashore,  because  if  they  remain  moored  to  the  docks  they 
will  be  pounded  to  pieces,  and  there  is  not  holding  ground  for 
anchors  in  the  harbor  against  the  tremendous  seas  and  winds. 
Lying  beside  one  of  the  piers  is  the  rusty  skeleton  of  a  foolish 
ship  that  refused  to  heed  the  warning  and  remained  at  its 
dock,  where  it  is  now  and  ever  will  be  an  example  to  reckless 
mariners. 

The  railroad  company  occupies  one  end  of  the  town  with 
shops  and  boarding  houses,  and  the  canal  company  the  other 
end,  where  there  is  a  group  of  villas  of  the  most  ornate  and 
elaborate  "gingerbread"  school  of  architecture,  which  were 
erected  by  Count  de  Lesseps  for  the  comfort  of  his  large  and 
luxurious  staff    of    managers    and    engineers.      They    were 


THE  VOYAGE  AND  THE   ISTHMUS  7 

elegantly  fitted  out  and  equipped  with  every  possible  conven- 
ience regardless  of  expense.  There  are  clubs,  billiard  rooms, 
libraries  and  hospitals,  and  all  the  et  ceteras  of  a  colony  of 
cultured  gentlemen  (except  churches)  which  cost  a  million  or 
two  of  dollars,  and  for  years  have  been  kept  from  destruction 
at  an  expenditure  of  $30,000  a  month.  There  are  stables  and 
fire-engine  houses,  warerooms  for  commissary  stores,  cook- 
shops  and  bakeries,  and  a  low,  cool-looking  hotel  for  the 
accommodation  of  transient  visitors.  The  railway  company, 
takes  equally  good  care  of  its  men.  It  asks  a  good  deal  of 
them  to  come  down  and  work  in  this  climate,  and  with  com- 
mendable consideration  makes  them  as  contented  as  possible. 
The  hospitals  and  clubrooms,  hotels  and  boarding  houses  that 
have  been  provided  for  the  railway  hands  are  quite  as  com- 
fortable as  those  erected  by  the  canal  company,  but  are  not 
so  ornate  or  elegant. 

The  French  people  call  the  canal  colony  Christo  Colombo, 
the  Spaniards  call  it  Christoval  Colon  and  the  Americans  have 
named  it  plain  Christopher  Columbus.  The  most  beautiful, 
but  at  the  same  time  the  most  inappropriate,  statue  to  the 
discoverer  that  was  ever  erected  stands  on  the  point  where 
two  avenues  of  palm  trees  converge,  and  overlooks  the 
entrance  to  the  canal.  It  represents  Columbus  in  the  garb  of 
a  scholar,  with  a  benign  expression  upon  his  countenance  and 
his  hand  resting  upon  the  tresses  of  a  crouching  Indian  girl  of 
exquisite  face  and  figure.  This  beautiful  bronze  was  erected 
by  the  ex-Empress  Eugenie. 

Under  a  cocoanut  grove  at  the  railroad  end  of  Colon  is 
another  statue  erected  by  the  Panama  Company  in  honor  of 
William  H.  Aspinwall,  John  L.  Stephens  and  Henry  Chauncey, 
the  three  men  to  whose  enterprise  the  world  is  indebted  for 
rapid  transit  across  the  isthmus.  Near  the  little  station  of 
Ahaca  Lagarto,  on  the  line  of  the  road,  is  another  monument 
to  Mr.  Stephens,  who  was  equally  famous  as  a  historian,  a 
diplomatist  and  an  engineer.  It  is  an  enormous  gramalota  tree 
which  overhangs  the  track,  and  has  been  allowed  to  remain  as 
a  memorial  because  under  the  shelter  of  its  luxurious  foliage 
Mr.  Stephens  died.     He  located  the  right  of  way  and  directed 


8       BETWEEN   THE  ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

the  surveys,  which  were  nearly  finished  when  he  was  taken  ill 
of  fever  and  was  carried  from  the  swamps  to  the  foot  of  this 
tree. 

Near  the  Aspinwall  monument  is  the  American  consulate, 
and  just  across  the  road  is  one  of  the  few  protestant  churches 
in  South  America,  which  was  erected  by  the  railroad  company 
for  the  benefit  of  its  employes.  It  is  a  graceful  piece  of 
brownstone  architecture. 

One  night  at  the  church  we  witnessed  a  wedding  ceremony, 
interesting  and  unique.  What  impressed  us  most  was  the 
intermingling  of  the  black  and  white  races  on  an  equality. 
The  clergyman  was  white,  the  bridal  couple  were  white,  the 
ushers  were  colored  and  a  surpliced  choir  of  colored  children 
sung  the  wedding  hymns,  both  a  processional  and  recessional, 
and  chanted  the  responses.  The  organist  was  a  full-blooded 
negro  and  played  very  well.  The  little  chaps  who  sat  in  the 
choir  were  the  color  of  ebony,  their  voices  were  well  trained 
and  they  understood  their  part  of  the  ceremony. 

There  is  a  social  distinction  between  the  two  races  in  Colon 
as  everywhere,  but  in  business,  in  religion  and  in  education 
equality  is  recognized.  The  colored  population  comes  from 
Jamaica,  and  other  British  colonies  of  the  West  Indies,  and 
most  of  them  are  full -blood  blacks.  They  mix  and  intermarry 
with  the  Chinese,  who  constitute  a  considerable  and  important 
portion  of  the  population,  and  you  frequently  see  colored 
women  with  almond-eyed  babies  in  their  arms;  but  mulattoes 
are  very  scarce.  The  colored  women  wear  stiffly-starched 
calicoes  and  the  men  immaculate  suits  of  white  duck. 

The  vultures  have  charge  of  the  health  department.  They 
are  the  official  scavengers  and  garbage  collectors  and  have  a 
contract  for  cleaning  the  streets.  There  is  a  law  to  punish 
any  person  who  shoots  or  otherwise  disturbs  them  in  the  pur- 
suit of  their  occupation. 

If  it  were  not  for  the  vultures  I  do  not  know  what  Colon 
would  be.  There  is  no  sewerage,  and  pools  of  filth  abound 
in  every  block.  Any  town  in  any  zone  would  be  equally 
unhealthy,  but  the  great  discomfort  is  the  humidity.  The 
atmosphere  is  soaked  with  moisture.     Everything  drips.     In 


THE  VOYAGE   AND   THE   ISTHMUS  9 

other  countries  during  the  wet  season  the  rain  falls  regularly 
at  certain  hours  of  the  day.  You  can  expect  a  shower  at 
Panama  about  3  o'clock  every  afternoon  during  the  rainy 
season  and  govern  yourself  accordingly.  The  rest  of  the  day 
and  the  evening  after  6  o'clock  is  delightful,  and  no  one  thinks 
of  carrying  an  umbrella,  but  at  Colon  it  rains  all  the  time, 
and,  according  to  the  old  proverb,  it  never  rains  but  it  pours ; 
as  if  the  bottom  dropped  out  of  the  sky. 

Colon  and  Panama  are  forty-seven  miles  apart.'  The  rain- 
fall at  Panama  is  about  92  inches  annually,  or  about  8  feet. 
The  rainfall  at  Colon  has  been  250  inches,  or  about  21  feet, 
and  the  people  get  it  all  in  five  months,  an  average  of  four 
feet  a  month  precipitation,  while  in  Arizona  they  only  have  a 
few  inches.  It  takes  all  the  rest  of  the  year  for  the  people  to 
get  dry.  The  heat  in  the  dry  season  is  more  severe,  but  not 
so  uncomfortable.  The  thermometer  ranges  from  80  to  90 
day  and  night.  There  is  little  moderation  in  the  temperature 
after  dark,  but  people  easily  adapt  themselves  to  the  condi- 
tions, and  there  is  a  certain  fascination  about  the  place  that  is 
difficult  to  comprehend.  If  you  were  to  look  the  world  over 
Colon  would  be  the  last  place  for  any  one  to  choose  as  a  resi- 
dence, yet  many  call  it  home  and  claim  an  attachment  as 
strong  as  people  feel  for  the  villages  in  which  they  were  born 
or  where  their  babies  are  buried.  They  go  away,  but  are  glad 
to  come  back  again,  where  they  can  find  mildew  on  their  boots 
and  clothing  in  the  morning  and  everything  has  a  dank  and 
musty  smell. 

The  climate  is  not  so  unhealthy  either,  according  to  the 
opinions  of  the  old  settlers,  who  declare  that  whisky  and 
imprudence  cause  most  of  the  sickness,  and  that  if  tenderfeet 
would  take  ordinary  care  of  themselves  and  observe  simple 
sanitary  precautions  the  cemetery  at  Monkey  Hill  would  not 
be  so  large.  Young  men  defy  hygienic  laws.  They  drink 
whisky,  eat  fruit  at  the  wrong  hours,  sit  around  in  damp 
clothing  and  expose  themselves  to  dangers  that  would  be  fatal 
at  home,  and  then,  when  their  names  appear  in  the  list  of  the 
dead,  their  friends  blame  the  climate. 

There  have  been  revolutions  and  riots  and  robberies  in 


10     BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

times  past,  but  there  is  no  more  orderly  city  of  the  same  pop- 
ulation in  any  part  of  the  world.  Neatly  uniformed  policemen 
patrol  the  streets,  but  have  little  to  do,  and  the  docket  of  the 
criminal  court  seldom  has  anything  but  petty  larceny  cases. 
The  railroad  hands  control  affairs,  and  the  superintendent  is  a 
king.  Sometimes  they  have  found  it  necessary  to  take  the 
law  into  their  own  hands  and  enforce  it  for  the  protection  and 
benefit  of  the  public. 

There  has  been  peace  on  the  isthmus  for  a  long  time.  The 
last  serious  revolution  occurred  in  1885,  when  a  negro  lawyer 
of  Colon,  by  the  name  of  Prestan,  led  a  mob  of  roughs  and 
roustabouts,  who  burned  the  town  and  maintained  a  reign  of 
terror  for  several  weeks.  It  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
revolutions  that  ever  occurred  in  America.  It  began  in  the 
domestic  relations  of  Dr.  Nunez,  president  of  Colombia.  He 
was  for  years  the  leader  of  the  liberal  party,  and  as  its  candidate 
was  elected  president,  but  wanted  to  share  his  honors  with  a 
brilliant  and  beautiful  woman  named  Soledad,  whose  profile 
appears  upon  the  coins  of  the  country,  and,  in  order  to  get  a 
divorce,  was  compelled  to  make  terms  with  the  conservative 
party,  which  represented  the  church.  He  negotiated  a  con- 
cordat with  the  Vatican,  turned  over  all  the  schools,  colleges, 
libraries,  hospitals  and  other  public  institutions  to  the  priests 
and  surrendered  by  a  single  act  all  that  the  liberal  party  had 
gained  in  forty  years  of  fighting.  It  protested  with  force,  the 
revolution  became  general  and  spread  to  the  isthmus,  where 
Prestan  took  advantage  of  the  confusion  and  organized  his 
mob.  It  is  doubtful  what  he  expected  to  gain,  but  the  pre- 
vailing opinion  is  that  he  was  after  power  as  well  as  plunder, 
and  intended,  if  possible,  to  make  himself  dictator  on  the 
isthmus.  He  was  a  negro  of  low  origin,  but  obtained  some 
education  in  Jamaica  and  had  good  natural  abilities. 

Prestan  escaped  in  disguise,  but  was  recaptured  and  brought 
back  to  Colon  to  answer  the  charge  of  burning  that  city. 
There  was  not  the  slightest  doubt  of  his  gpuilt,  for  a  hundred 
witnesses  heard  him  threaten  in  advance  to  punish  the  people 
for  resisting  him.  But  so  gfreat  was  the  man's  influence,  so 
terrorized  was  the  entire  community  whose  homes  and  prop- 


THE  VOYAGE   AND   THE   ISTHMUS  ii 

erty  had  been  destroyed,  that  they  feared  to  punish  him,  and 
the  lot  of  hanging  him  fell  to  Captain  Rountree,  an  old  sailor 
of  the  Pacific  Mail  Co.  Some  people  say  that  Rountree  volun- 
teered to  perform  the  duty,  but  however  that  might  be  he  did 
it  without  hesitation.  He  rigged  what  sailors  call  "a  pair  of 
shears"  with  telegraph  poles  over  a  flat  car  in  Bolivar  Street, 
Colon,  and  when  the  noose  was  around  Prestan's  neck  helped 
the  negroes  shove  the  car  from  under  his  feet.  Two  of  Pres- 
tan's lieutenants  were  executed  at  the  same  time.  One  of 
them  was  known  as  Cocabola,  the  name  of  a  particularly  tough 
kind  of  timber,  which  he  is  said  to  have  resembled. 

Prestan  was  not  given  "the  benefit  of  the  clergy"  nor  the 
three  days'  grace  usually  allowed  condemned  criminals  down 
there.  In  all  Spanish-American  countries  a  man  who  is  sen- 
tenced to  die  is  given  three  days  of  life  after  the  date  upon 
which  the  sentence  is  ordered  to  be  executed,  for  the  same 
reason  that  similar  consideration  is  offered  those  who  have 
borrowed  money,  that  he  may  have  the  advantage  of  any  event 
that  may  occur  in  the  meantime.  Those  three  days  are  spent 
in  a  room  called  "en  capilla,"  which  means  "the  chapel."  It 
is  fitted  up  with  an  altar,  a  crucifix  and  other  religious 
emblems.  He  is  allowed  the  constant  attendance  of  a  priest, 
to  receive  visits  from  his  friends  and  also  to  accept  money, 
either  solicited  or  voluntarily  given,  to  be  expended  in  masses 
for  the  repose  of  his  soul. 

There  is  a  splendid  field  for  enterprise  <^  the  isthmus  as 
well  as  in  the  Central  American  countries,  both  in  mercantile 
trade  and  agriculture.  The  pioneer  spirit  is  no  greater  in  the 
English  and  the  Germans  than  in  the  Americans,  and  our 
energy  is  no  less,  but  they  have  gone  abroad  and  entered  into 
mercantile  engagements,  while  our  boys  have  remained  at 
home  to  subdue  the  prairie  and  search  the  secrets  of  the 
mountains.  Nearly  all  the  wholesale  trading,  the  importing 
and  exporting  and  the  banking  business^in  these  countries  is 
conducted  by  Germans,  and  very  soon  they  will  control  the 
trade.  They  seem  to  adapt  themselves  to  the  climate  better 
than  other  Europeans  and  to  have  a  firmer  hold  upon  the 
morals  they  bring  with  them  from  home.     It  is  too  often  the 


12     BETWEEN   THE   ANDES  AND   THE  OCEAN 

case  that  an  American  or  an  Englishman  coming  into  a 
tropical  country  relieves  himself  from  moral  restraint,  as  he 
would  never  think  of  doing  at  home.  This  seldom  can  be  said 
of  the  Germans.  Travelers  also  notice  that  they  have  greater 
physical  stamina  too.  They  do  not  succumb  so  easily  as  the 
other  races  to  the  enervating  influence  of  a  climate.  Down  in 
these  hot  countries  it  is  very  easy  to  do  nothing,  and  the  most 
energetic  men  are  often  tempted  to  spend  their  time  in  the 
contemplation  of  a  purpose  instead  of  its  execution.  The 
German  settlers  cannot  be  accused  of  that  fault.  They  never 
seem  to  lose  their  activity. 

There  is  a  prosperous  California  colony  on  the  Chiriqui 
lagoon,  about  fifty  miles  from  Colon,  on  the  north  shore  of 
the  isthmus.  An  American  by  the  name  of  Thompson 
obtained  a  concession  from  the  Colombian  government  about 
twenty  years  ago  for  a  large  tract  of  land,  with  the  under- 
standing that  he  would  locate  a  colony  there.  He  made  a 
contract  with  the  navy  department  at  Washington  for  the 
establishment  of  a  repair  and  coaling  station  and  secured  an 
appropriation  of  $500,000  from  congress  to  build  dry  docks, 
shops,  wharves  and  quarters  for  officers  and  men.  Several 
shiploads  of  coal  were  unloaded  there,  a  survey  was  made  and 
a  town  laid  out,  but  somehow  or  another  the  scheme  fell 
through.  If  I  remember  correctly,  Secretary  Hunt,  who  was 
the  head  of  the  navy  in  the  Garfield  administration,  was 
opposed  to  the  project  and  refused  to  spend  the  appropria- 
tion. Since  then,  however,  a  colony  of  several  hundred 
people  from  California  have  taken  up  land  and  are  said  to  be 
very  prosperous.  The  location  is  the  healthiest  along  the 
northern  coast  of  the  isthmus.  The  land  rises  rapidly  from 
the  coast  as  high  as  2,000  feet,  and  the  soil  is  well  adapted  for 
the  cultivation  of  sugar,  coffee,  bananas,  oranges  and  other 
fruits.  In  the  higher  altitudes  the  California  people  have 
planted  large  coffee  groves,  which  are  just  beginning  to  bear. 
So  prosperous  have  they  become  that  a  weekly  steamer  is  now 
running  between  Chirigui  and  Colon  to  accommodate  the 
traffic. 


II 

CONCERNING  THE  PANAMA  CANAL 

Abundant  evidences  of  the  extravagance  and  wastefulness 
of  the  De  Lesseps  Canal  Company  are  seen  on  every  hand 
between  Colon  and  Panama ;  reminiscences  of  the  golden  days 
when  a  rain  of  French  francs  fell  upon  the  isthmus;  millions 
of  dollars'  worth  of  empty  and  useless  structures  and  rusting 
machinery,  and  about  eighteen  miles  of  ditch  half  filled  with 
debris.  Not  long  ago  some  people  who  were  digging  a  cellar 
for  a  house  came  across  a  locomotive  buried  in  the  sand  under 
the  surface.  You  hear  many  of  that  sort  of  stories.  After 
the  reorganization  the  officers  of  the  new  company  went  about 
quietly  picking  up  machinery  and  other  articles  that  can  be 
preserved  and  made  useful,  and  has  been  making  an  honest 
demonstration  to  retain  the  concession  and  furnish  a  founda- 
tion upon  which  to  sell  the  franchise  or  raise  the  means  to 
complete  the  work. 

After  the  failure  of  the  De  Lessep's  Panama  Company,  in 
February,  1889,  the  canal  went  into  the  hands  of  a  receiver. 
A  new  company  was  organized  in  October,  1894,  which 
appointed  an  engineer  commission  consisting  of  Gen.  Abbott 
of  the  United  States  Army;  Mr.  Fulscher,  the  engineer 
director  in  charge  of  construction  of  the  Kiel  canal  in  Ger- 
many; Hr.  Koch,  an  engineer  commissioner  engaged  on  the 
same  enterprise;  W.  H.  Hunter,  chief  engineer  of  construc- 
tion on  the  Manchester  canal ;  A.  A.  Fteley,  chief  engineer  of 
the  New  York  aqueduct  commission,  and  several  other  able 
and  experienced  engineers  from  Europe  and  America,  to  make 
a  thorough  survey  and  recommend  such  modifications  in  the 
original  plan  of  Count  De  Lesseps  as  they  believed  to  be 
necessary  to  economy  and  success.  The  commission  immedi- 
ately reported  for  duty,  spent  several  months  upoaihe^sthmus 

[  UNIVERSITYJ 


14     BETWEEN   THE   ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

and  formulated  a  new  plan,  which  has  since  been  adopted  and 
is  now  being  carried  out.  It  was  possible  to  utilize  most  of 
the  work  that  was  done  by  the  original  company,  although  the 
greater  part  of  the  money  which  it  spent  was  permanently 
wasted. 

The  original  plan  of  Count  de  Lesseps  was  to  build  an 
ordinary  sea  level  canal  without  locks,  open  from  ocean  to 
ocean,  in  the  bed  of  the  Chagres  River — or,  in  other  words,  to 
extend  the  Chagres  River,  which  empties  into  the  Atlantic, 
through  an  artificial  channel  into  the  Pacific;  but  the  new 
commission  recommended  that  this  plan  be  abandoned,  owing 
to  the  excessive  and  expensive  excavations  through  the  moun- 
tains that  would  be  necessary,  and  because  of  the  difficulty 
and  expense  of  taking  care  of  the  enormous  floods  that  fall 
there  during  the  rainy  season.  The  Chagres  River  drains  an 
immense  watershed,  and  the  rainfall  is  often  so  heavy  that  it 
rises  ten  or  fifteen  feet  in  an  hour.  The  new  plan  recom- 
mended by  the  engineers  contemplates  a  familiar,  old-fash- 
ioned system  of  locks  and  dams  to  raise  vessels  in  transit  to  a 
maximum  elevation  of  sixty-eight  feet  above  tidewater. 

The  three  great  problems  to  which  I  referred  are : 

1.  The  regulation  of  the  water  supply  and  the  control  of 
the  floods  in  the  rainy  season. 

2.  The  landslides  which  occur  frequently  during  these 
rains. 

3.  The  effect  of  the  climate  upon  the  health  of  the  em- 
ployes. 

As  represented  by  the  new  commission  of  engineers,  these 
constitute  the  only  serious  problems  to  be  "considered;  the 
remainder  of  the  work  is  plain,  ordinary  engineering. 

Under  the  new  plans  the  total  length  of  the  canal  will  be 
forty-six  miles,  of  which  three  miles  is  a  channel  dredged  in 
the  bottom  of  the  Bay  of  Panama  to  deep  water,  leaving  forty- 
three  miles  of  inland  construction.  Of  this  fifteen  miles  on 
the  Atlantic  side,  between  Colon  and  the  town  of  Bohio,  and 
seven  on  the  Pacific  side,  between  Panama  Bay  and  Mira- 
flores,  are  on  the  sea  level,  and  most  of  it  was  excavated  by 
the  De  Lesseps  Company,  although  the  ditches  are  now  prac- 


CONCERNING  THE   PANAMA  CANAL  15 

tically  useless,  having  been  filled  with  debris  and  earth  washed 
from  the  banks  until  they  cannot  accommodate  boats  drawing 
more  than  three  feet  of  water.  Nevertheless,  this  is  an  easy 
and  comparatively  inexpensive  piece  of  work.  The  soil  is  clay 
and  sand,  and  the  great  modern  dredges,  like  those  used  on 
the  Chicago  Drainage  Canal,  could  deepen  it  twenty-four  or 
thirty-two  feet  in  short  order. 

This  leaves  twenty-four  miles  of  canal  to  be  constructed 
with  locks,  and  of  that  [distance  fourteen  miles  will  be  the 
Chagres  River  transformed  into  an  artificial  lake,  covering 
13,585  acres,  or  twenty-one  square  miles,  between  Bohio  and 
Obispo  on  the  Atlantic  side  of  the  watershed.  This  lake  has 
been  decided  upon  as  the  most  simple  and  economical  solution 
of  the  first  problem  stated.  It  will  contain  53,000,000,000 
cubic  feet  of  water,  will  have  a  mean  level  of  fifty-six  feet 
above  the  sea  and  during  the  summer  floods  can  be  raised  to  a 
maximum  of  sixty-five  feet  above  tide  water  without  danger 
of  overflow.  It  is  intended  to  conduct  into  this  lake  by  differ- 
ent channels  all  of  the  rainfall  upon  the  Atlantic  watershed 
drained  by  the  Chagres  River,  and  that,  having  received  the 
floods,  it  shall  retain  them  until  they  are  needed  during  the 
dry  season.  Two  locks  will  admit  ships  coming  from  the 
Atlantic  into  this  lake. 

The  remaining  ten  miles  of  the  canal,  between  the  towns 
of  Obispo  and  Miraflores,  includes  the  summit,  the  continental 
divide,  which  is  a  hill  called  Culebra.  This  requires  an  enor- 
mous amount  of  excavation,  and  it  is  there  that  a  gang  of 
2,000  or  3,000  Jamaica  negroes  has  been  at  work  for  two  years. 
The  canal  follows  the  Chagres  River  to  Obispo,  the  southern 
terminus  of  the  lake.  The  sea-level  ditch  on  the  Pacific  side 
begins  at  Miraflores.  The  summit  of  the  continental  divide, 
the  hog's  back,  is  about  500  feet  above  tide  water.  This  has 
already  been  reduced  to  about  300  feet.  The  engineer  com- 
mission has  two  plans,  one  for  a  ditch  ten  miles  long  across 
this  divide  at  a  level  of  ninety-six  feet,  and  the  other  at  a  level 
of  sixty-eight  feet.  It  is  not  a  question  of  engineering,  but  of 
economy.  It  is  estimated  that  if  the  ninety-six  foot  level  is 
adopted  the  canal  can  be  built  or  finished  for  $87,000,000.     If 


i6     BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

the  sixty-eight  foot  level  is  adopted  it  will  cost  considerably- 
more,  perhaps  $100,000,000.  The  present  company  has  been 
engaged  for  four  years  making  this  excavation.  The  first 
surveys  indicated  that  the  mountain  was  solid  rock,  but 
experience  has  demonstrated  that  the  work  will  cost  less  than 
was  at  first  estimated,  because  it  proves  to  be  of  a  soft  mate- 
rial, which  can  be  worked  with  greater  economy  than  was  sup- 
posed. It  is  what  they  call  an  "indurated  clay  schist."  It 
rec^uires  blasting,  but  is  easily  handled  and  gives  no  serious 
trouble.  At  the  same  time  the  bugbear  of  landslides  is  no 
longer  feared. 

From  this  height  of  sixty-eight  or  ninety-six  feet  the  ships 
will  be  lowered  into  the  Pacific  by  three  sets  of  locks,  and  an 
additional  tidal  lock  at  the  sea  level  at  Mirafiores,  which  offers 
of  itself  a  considerable  problem.  The  mean  tide  at  Colon  on 
the  Caribbean  Sea  is  only  about  eighteen  inches.  Curiously 
enough,  at  Panama,  on  the  Pacific  side,  it  varies  from  twenty- 
three  feet,  to  twenty-eight,  but  that  phenomenon  offers  no 
difficulties  which  the  engineers  cannot  overcome. 

This,  in  short,  is  the  plan  of  the  proposed  Panama  Canal. 
It  will  be  a  few  miles  shorter  than  that  of  Kiel  and  a  few 
miles  longer  than  that  of  Manchester  and  the  drainage  canal 
of  Chicago.  There  will  be  double  locks  738  feet  long,  82  feet 
wide  and  32  feet  deep  at  the  ends  of  all  the  levels.  The  max- 
imum elevation  of  lift  will  be  32  feet,  the  average  30  feet. 
The  locks  will  be  founded  upon  rocks,  built  of  the  most 
perfect  masonry,  with  single  gates,  revolving  upon  pivots,  and 
the  water  will  be  supplied  by  pipes  buried  in  the  floors  and 
delivered  on  each  side  throughout  the  whole  length  of  the 
chambers. 

There  will  be  five  dams  upon  the  canal  proper  and  a  sixth 
to  retain  a  storage  reservoir  for  the  purpose  of  furnishing 
water  to  the  high  level  of  the  canal  in  dry  weather.  About 
half  way  over  the  isthmus  the  Chagres  River  turns  an  angle 
to  the  northward,  having  come  tumbling  down  the  mountains 
from  a  place  called  Alhajuela,  which  is  elevated  several  hun- 
dred feet  above  the  sea.  Here  it  is  proposed  to  construct  a 
dam  and  create  a  storage  reservoir  to  catch  the  drain  from 


CONCERNING  THE  PANAMA  CANAL  17 

a  large  watershed  and  retain  it  not  only  to  feed  the  upper 
level,  but  also  to  provide  power  for  an  electric  plant  to  run 
the  locks,  furnish  light,  etc. 

The  dam  at  Alhajuela  will  be  of  concrete  masonry,  founded 
on  and  abutting  against  natural  compact  rock.  The  length  of 
the  crest  will  be  936  feet,  the  height  134  feet  above  the  bed 
of  the  river  and  164  feet  above  the  foundation.  The  dam 
that  makes  the  other  lake  will  be  1,286  feet  long,  75  feet  above 
the  bed  of  the  river  and  93  feet  above  the  foundations.  It  is 
confidently  believed  by  the  commission  of  eminent  engineers 
which  I  have  mentioned  that  these  two  dams  will  take  care  of 
all  the  water  that  can  fall  on  the  isthmus  during  the  rainy 
season  without  injury  to  the  canal.  During  their  construction 
the  river  will  be  diverted  through  a  tunnel  and  into  a  tempo- 
rary course. 

The  commission  had  before  it  the  records  of  floods  for 
thirty  years.  That  of  1879  is  said  to  have  been  the  greatest 
within  the  memory  of  man,  when  the  discharge  of  water  was 
57)539  cubic  feet  a  second  at  Gamboa  and  109,410  cubic  feet 
at  Bohio.  The  duration  was  very  short,  being  only  forty-eight 
hours  at  Gamboa  and  ninety-six  hours  at  Bohio.  The  reser- 
voir capacity  as  proposed  is  said  to  be  sufficient  to  receive  and 
retain  a  flood  twice  as  great  as  that  described. 

The  original  estimate  of  the  cost  of  the  canal  by  Count  de 
Lesseps  was  $214,000,000.  To  this  he  added  $26,000,000 
interest  on  bonds  for  twelve  years  before  earnings  commenced, 
making  a  total  of  $240,000,000.  The  receipts  from  the  sale 
of  stocks  and  bonds  were  $260,000,000.  The  actual  expendi- 
tures for  all  purposes  on  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  according  to 
the  books  of  the  company,  were  $156,400,000.  Of  this 
$88,600,000  was  expended  in  the  work  of  actual  construction 
and  $67,800,000  represents  the  expenditures  for  property,  the 
railroad,  the  piers,  the  erection  of  houses,  shops,  hospitals  and 
other  buildings,  the  purchase  of  machinery,  the  subsistence 
and  the  salaries  of  officers  and  men. 

At  the  high  tide  of  construction  there  were  15,000  employes 
of  the  canal  company  on  the  isthmus,  who  were  not  only  paid 
big  wages,  but  were  sheltered  and  fed  and  furnished  with  all 


i8     BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

luxuries,  including  wines,  horses  and  carriages  and  the  most 
elaborate  outfits.  The  company  even  provided  libraries, 
pianos  and  other  musical  instruments,  billiard  tables,  solid 
silver  table  service,  liveried  footmen  and  valets  for  its 
employes.  A  house  was  built  there  for  the  use  of  Count  de 
Lesseps  and  a  similar  one  for  his  son,  at  a  cost,  it  is  said,  of 
$250,000,  although  they  could  be  replaced  for  $10,000  each. 
Along  the  shore  of  the  bay,  on  Christopher  Columbus  point,  as 
they  call  it,  is  a  sea  wall,  composed  of  blocks  of  concrete, 
placed  there  to  protect  the  lawn  that  surrounds  the  villa  that 
the  president  of  the  canal  company  was  expected  to  occupy 
when  he  came  to  the  isthmus.  Some  say  that  those  blocks  of 
concrete  cost  $75  each;  some  say  they  cost  $250  each,  and 
there  are  thousands  of  them. 

The  greatest  number  of  the  houses,  hospitals,  machine 
shops  and  other  property  of  the  original  company  still  remain, 
although  they  are  in  a  state  of  partial  decay.  Everything 
made  of  wood  rots  quickly  in  this  terrible  climate,  but  the 
present  company  is  keeping  things  in  good  repair  and  pre- 
serving everything  possible.  In  addition  to  what  I  have 
described  there  is  a  well-equipped  railroad  forty-seven  miles 
long,  a  fleet  of  three  steamers,  tugs,  lighters,  warehouses, 
machine  shops,  piers,  terminal  facilities  and  so  on,  which,  in 
the  last  report  of  the  company,  are  valued  at  $11,806,579. 
Including  this  and  the  eighteen  miles  of  ditch  dug  by  the  old 
company,  now  half  filled  with  debris,  and  the  work  of  excava- 
tion that  has  been  done  on  the  continental  divide,  the  franchise 
from  the  government  of  Colombia,  and  everything  else  that 
belongs  to  the  company,  the  assets  of  the  enterprise  are  valued 
at  $90,000,000.  It  is  estimated  by  the  engineer  commissioners 
that  it  will  cost  $87,000,000  to  complete  the  canal.  And  they 
figure  that  they  will  need  $15,000,000  for  interest  and  unfor- 
seen  expenses,  which  makes  the  total  $192,000,000. 

The  franchise  runs  until  1904,  when  the  canal  must  be 
completed,  and  from  that  date  for  ninety-nine  years.  The 
company  has  a  strip  of  land  650  feet  wide  on  each  side  of  the 
canal  and  a  grant  of  1,235,500  acres  wherever  it  may  be 
selected  in  the  State  of  Panama.     It  is  exempt  from  taxation 


CONCERNING  THE   PANAMA  CANAL  19 

and  all  merchandise  imported  for  its  use  is  exempt  from  cus- 
toms dues.  The  Colombian  government  is  to  receive  5  per 
cent  of  the  gross  earning  for  the  first  twenty-five  years,  6  per 
cent  for  the  second  twenty-five  years,  7  per  cent  for  the  third 
twenty-five  and  8  per  cent  for  the  remainder  of  the  concession. 

Under  its  treaty  with  Colombia  the  government  of  the 
United  States  is  under  obligations  to  preserve  peace  upon  the 
right  of  way  and  guarantees  free  transit  upon  the  canal. 

The  new  company  left  the  ditches  as  it  found  them  and  has 
been  working  in  the  interior  on  the  most  difficult  and  expen- 
sive part  of  the  survey,  carrying  excavations  through  the  sum- 
mit of  the  continental  divide,  which  reaches  a  level  of  about  500 
feet.  It  is  the  lowest  point  on  the  backbone  of  America  from 
Bering  Straits  to  Tierra  del  Fuego  and  it  seems  as  if  nature 
intended  to  break  the  continent  here.  It  is  an  extraordinary 
fact  that  Columbus  in  'his  dreams  conceived  that  a  navigable 
passage  existed,  or  ought  to  exist,  at  this  spot,  and  cruised  up 
and  down  the  coast  with  his  feverish  eyes  scanning  inlet  and 
creek  and  bay  in  search  for  it.  His  instinct  or  his  intuition, 
if  you  prefer  that  word,  told  him  that  it  must  be  here,  and  it 
is  the  spot  where  the  land  is  the  narrowest  and  the  lowest  in 
all  America. 

The  cost  of  excavation  is  estimated  as  follows: 

Atlantic  level $  3,969,700 

Bohio  level 6,412,500 

Summit  level 22,904,300 

Paraiso  level 1,248,100 

Pedro  Miguel 922,700 

Pacific  level .  5,864,700 

Revetment  of  canal 1,351,000 

Contingent  expenses 4,053,000 

Total $46,706,000 

The  cost  of  five  locks  with  which  it  is  proposed  to  overcome 
the  elevation  of  the  isthmus  in  preference  to  digging  the 
canal  on  the  level  of  the  sea  is  estimated  upon  a  basis  of  $9.65 
per  cubic  meter  for  the  masonry,  material  and  labor  included, 
as  follows : 


20     BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

Twin  locks  at  Bohio $6,217,700 

Twin  locks  at  Obispo 5,776,100 

Twin  locks  at  Paraiso 3,077,400 

Twin  locks  at  Pedro  Miguel  ....  5,568,300 

Twin  locks  at  Miraflores 3,049,200 

Operating  machinery 323,200 

Contingent  expenses 2,429,100 


Total  cost  of  locks $26,416,100 

The  cost  of  the  six  dams  and  spillways  is  calculated  on  a 
basis  of  $9.65  per  cubic  meter  for  masonry  for  five  of  them, 
and  $11.58  for  the  sixth,  at  the  big  reservoir  at  Alhajuela, 
which  is  intended  to  catch  and  regulate  the  rainfall  of  the 
mountains  and  feed  the  highest  level  of  the  canal  in  the  dry 
season : 


Dam  and  spillway  at  Bohio  .  .  . 
Dam  and  spillway  at  Obispo  .  . 
Dam  and  spillway  at  Paraiso  .  . 
Dam  and  spillway  at  Pedro  Miguel 
Dam  and  spillway  at  Miraflores  . 
Dam  and  spillway  at  Alhajuela  . 
Contingent  expenses 


$2,119,300 

87,200 

260,300 

173,100 

9,700 

2,256,700 

783,700 


Total  cost  dams  and  spillways    .     $5,790,000 

An  allowance  of  $3,008,000  is  made  for  derivation  and 
widening;  $2,702,000  for  changing  the  location  of  the  Panama 
railroad,  which  now  lies  directly  on  the  right  of  way  selected 
by  the  canal;  $312,100  for  a  railway  track  on  the  upper 
Chagres  River,  with  $73,900  for  contingencies,  making  a  total 
of  $3,088,888  for  railway  construction  which  must  be  charged 
to  the  canal. 

For  feeding  channels  $3,281,000  is  estimated;  $1,158,000 
for  the  purchase  of  right  of  way;  and  $2,509,000  for  the  cost 
of  power  plants,  electrical  apparatus,  machinery,  and  engines. 
This  makes  $92,081,100,  the  estimated  expense  of  completing 
the  canal,  and  the  engineers  have  added  $6,755,000  for  unfor- 
seen  contingencies,  and  make  the  total  $98,836,100,  in  addition 
to  what  has  already  been  spent.  The  present  value  of  the 
investment,  including  the  franchise,  all  the  property,  rights 


CONCERNING  THE   PANAMA  CANAL  21 

and  privileges,  is  appraised  at  $92,000,000,  which  raises  the 
grand  total  to  $190,636,100  as  the  full  cost  of  a  completed 
canal  with  five  locks  across  the  itshmus.  A  sea-level  canal 
without  locks  would  cost  about  $30,000,000  more,  but  the  com- 
mission of  engineers  at  present  in  charge  has  pronounced  that 
impracticable,  on  account  of  the  difficulty  of  controlling  the 
rainfall  and  regulating  the  Chagres  River. 

The  cost  of  the  Nicaragua  canal  is  estimated  as  follows  by 
the  engineers  named: 

Menocal $  69,873,660 

Ludlow  commission 133,472,893 

Walker  and  Haupt 118,113,000 

Col.  Hains 134,808,000 

Chicago  drainage  contractors     .     .  115,000,000 

These  estimates  are  based  upon  the  cost  of  67  cents  per 
cubic  meter  for  ordinary  earth  and  $1.06  for  rock,  including 
the  disposition  of  material.  The  workmen  are  negroes  from 
Jamaica  and  other  British  colonies  in  the  West  Indies,  who 
have  been  found  to  endure  the  climate  better  than  any  others, 
although  they  would  be  far  from  satisfactory  as  laborers  to  a 
Yankee  contractor.  They  are  paid  $1  a  day  in  Columbian 
silver,  which  is  worth  about  40  cents  in  United  States  gold. 
All  the  hands  are  housed  and  fed  in  a  comfortable  manner, 
are  furnished  medical  attendance  and  are  treated  like  railway- 
construction  gangs  in  the  United  States. 

The  canal  people  have  tried  every  kind  of  labor — coolies 
from  British  Guiana  and  Trinidad,  Chinese,  Italians,  negroes 
from  the  United  States  and  a  shipload  of  800  black  men  was 
brought  from  Sierra  Leone,  Africa,  but  they  did  not  thrive. 
The  Africans  were  under  contract  for  £^2  sterling  a  month  and 
everything  found,  and  made  no  complaint  of  their  treatment 
or  their  pay,  but  they  would  not  work.  They  were  not  accus- 
tomed to  such  hard  labor,  nor  to  the  food  that  was  provided 
them,  nor  to  the  discipline.  Instead  of  having  an  exclusively 
fruit  and  vegetable  diet  as  at  home  they  were  given  a  good 
deal  of  meat,  which  affected  them  badly.  The  disease  known 
as  beri-beri  became  epidemic;  many  died,  and  after  seven 
months  the  survivors  were  sent  back  to  their  homes.     It  is 


22      BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

singular  that  the  experiment  should  have  turned  out  in  that 
way,  because  the  climate  on  the  isthmus  is  almost  exactly  like 
that  of  their  native  country.  The  negroes  from  Mississippi, 
Alabama  and  Louisiana  played  out  after  a  few  weeks  in  a 
similar  manner,  and  had  to  be  taken  home.  The  coolies  were 
useless  to  handle  a  pick  and  shovel.  They  seem  to  have  no 
strength  in  their  arms  and  backs.  The  Chinese  were  better, 
but  the  government  stopped  them  coming.  The  Italians 
drifted  to  the  towns  and  refused  to  work. 

The  sacrifice  of  human  life  by  the  De  Lesseps  Company 
was  as  reckless  as  the  waste  of  money,  although  elaborate 
preparations  were  made  to  protect  the  health  of  the  employes 
and  to  care  for  the  sick.  It  will  never  be  known  how  many 
died,  but  certainly  a  vast  number,  even  more  than  while  the 
railway  was  being  built,  and  it  is  a  popular  saying  that  every 
tie  represents  a  dead  man.  The  present  company,  like  the 
old  one,  has  taken  proper  precaution  for  the  protection  of 
health,  has  established  field  hospitals  for  the  care  of  those 
who  are  only  slightly  ill  and  erected  a  magnificent  hospital  at 
Panama  for  serious  cases  at  a  cost  of  5,000,000  francs.  It  is  in 
charge  of  competent  physicians  and  sisters  of  charity,  who 
were  brought  by  the  hundreds  from  France  to  minister  to  the 
sick.  The  chief  disease  is  familiarly  known  as  Chagres  fever, 
and  has  afflicted  tenderfeet  upon  the  isthmus  ever  since  the 
Spaniards  first  landed  here.  The  doctors  call  it  "pernicious 
fever,"  and  say  that  it  is  caused  by  the  malaria  .from  the 
marshes. 

Dr.  Lacroisade,  who  has  resided  on  the  isthmus  since  1887, 
and  now  has  charge  of  the  sanitary  welfare  of  the  3,800 
employes  of  the  canal  company,  says  that  "during  1898  the 
Chagres  fever  did  not  cause  a  single  death.  Two  diseases 
only  belonging  to  the  epidemic  type  appeared — the  beri-beri, 
which  was  brought  by  the  negro  laborers  from  Africa,  and 
disappeared  when  they  were  sent  back,  and  yellow  fever. 
The  latter,  after  having  been  absent  from  the  isthmus  for  at 
least  six  years  reappeared  in  the  summer  of  1897,  but  was  not 
really  epidemic  and  occasioned  only  six  deaths  among  the 
canal    employes.     From    other   infectious  diseases,    such  as 


CONCERNING  THE   PANAMA  CANAL  23 

smallpox,  typhoid  fever  and  diphtheria,  the  canal  employes 
were  practically  exempt,  and  you  may  be  assured  that  life  on 
the  isthmus  is  attended  by  no  more  danger  from  disease  than 
elsewhere,  even  for  natives  of  the  United  States  and  Europe, 
who,  with  the  exception  of  the  blacks  and  the  negroes  from 
the  British  Antilles,  appear  to  resist  the  climate  best.  There 
would  be  no  objection  to  this  climate  were  it  not  for  a  constant 
feeling  of  fatigue  and  uneasiness,  due  to  a  temperature  that  is 
always  high  and  an  atmosphere  that  is  always  saturated  with 
moisture. '  * 

The  advocates  of  the  Panama  canal  lay  great  stress  upon 
the  fact  that  it  has  a  good  harbor  at  either  end,  capable  of 
receiving  the  largest  ships,  while  the  Nicaragua  canal  h^s 
none,  and  the  two  that  must  be  built  present  serious  engineer- 
ing difficulties ;  that  a  good  railroad  is  now  in  operation  along 
the  entire  route  of  the  Panama  canal,  while  one  will  have  to 
be  constructed  in  Nicaragua ;  that  the  supreme  difficulties  of 
the  Panama  route  have  already  been  developed  and  overcome, 
while  those  of  the  Nicaragua  route  are  unknown ;  that  nothing 
of  an  experimental  character  is  proposed  on  the  Panama 
canal,  while  several  projects  in  the  Nicaragua  scheme  involve 
elements  of  novelty  that  are  without  precedent;  that  the 
length  of  the  Panama  canal  is  only  forty-six  miles,  while  that 
of  Nicaragua  is  four  times  as  great ;  that  there  are  no  vol- 
canoes on  the  isthmus,  while  there  are  several  in  Nicaragua ; 
that  earthquakes  are  practically  unknown  here,  while  in 
Nicaragua  they  are  frequent;  that  the  concession  from  the 
government  of  Colombia  for  the  Panama  canal  is  complete 
and  satisfactory  and  there  is  only  one  nation  to  deal  with, 
while  two  nations  must  be  consulted  in  everything  that 
involves  the  Nicaragua  canal,  and  the  concessions  are  com- 
plicated with  conditions  that  are  likely  to  prove  embarrassing. 


Ill 

THE  ANCIENT  CITY  OP  PANAMA 

Panama  is  one  of  the  oldest  and  one  of  the  quaintest  towns 
in  America.  Santo  Domingo  city  antedates  it  a  few  years, 
but  none  of  the  settlements  which  the  Spaniards  founded 
before  it  upon  tierra  firma,  as  they  called  the  continent,  have 
survived.  The  original  city,  known  as  Panama  la  Viega, 
about  four  miles  southward  on  the  shore  of  the  bay,  was 
settled  in  15 19,  gained  a  population  of  about  15,000  and  pros- 
pered 162  years,  when  it  was  entirely  destroyed  by  Morgan 
the  buccaneer.  According  to  the  histories  of  the  time  he 
burned  and  blew  up  7,000  houses,  in  which  many  people 
perished.  It  was  done  largely  for  revenge.  The  people  had 
several  weeks'  warning  of  his  approach — time  enough  to  put 
all  their  money  and  valuables  upon  a  ship  and  send  it  away, 
so  that  the  pirates  found  nothing  but  merchandise  to  reward 
them  for  the  tremendous  task  of  crossing  the  jungles  of  the 
isthmus. 

The  present  city  dates  back  to  1673  and  during  all  that 
time  it  has  managed  to  maintain  its  individuality,  notwith- 
standing attacks  from  the  Gauls,  the  Teutons  and  the  Saxons, 
and,  although  a  large  part  of  its  population  belongs  to  those 
races  it  remains  pure  Spanish  to  this  day.  In  1849  the  North 
Americans  began  to  come  in,  the  argonauts  and  gold-seekers, 
for  it  became  the  principal  station  upon  the  main  route  to 
California.  The  mercantile  element  is  largely  German. 
There  has  been  a  considerable  Italian  immigration,  and  in 
1879  a  flood  of  Frenchmen  came,  and  for  ten  years  following 
everybody  had  money  to  burn.  Then  the  bubble  burst  and 
after  a  hysterical  period  Panama  settled  down  into  its  present 
somnolescence,  although  much  improved  by  the  invasion.  The 
best  and  biggest  buildings,  except  the  bishop's  palace,  belong 

24 


A  Panama  Laundry. 


V'  OF   THE  r 

UNIVERSITY 

'^^CALirOB' 


THE   ANCIENT   CITY  OF   PANAMA  25 

to  the  canal  company.  The  governor  has  an  imposing  palace 
to  live  in  and  some  of  the  rich  merchants  have  erected  hand- 
some homes.  The  cathedral  is  a  venerable  and  massive  struc- 
ture, and  high  mass  on  Sundays  during  the  lively  days  of  the 
canal  was  a  religious  pageant  equal  to  any  that  can  be  seen  in 
Paris.  The  bishop,  the  governor  and  the  superintendent  of 
the  canal  are  the  most  conspicuous  citizens,  and  Henry 
Schuber  is  the  oldest  inhabitant — the  last  survivor  of  a  little 
colony  of  pioneers  who  settled  there  in  1849. 

Many  of  the  landmarks  of  old  Panama  remain — the  palaces 
of  the  grandees,  the  walls  and  watch  towers  overlooking  the 
water,  and  the  crumbling  fortifications  which  in  the  day  of 
their  erection  were  among  the  most  formidable  in  the  world 
and  resisted  many  an  onslaught  from  revolutionists  and  buc- 
caneers. Here  and  there  you  find  a  vine-clad  ruin,  the 
remains  of  some  building  that  has  burned  or  decayed,  and 
other  structures  which  look  so  decrepit  that  you  stand  by 
awhile  to  see  them  fall.  All  the  houses  are  built  on  the 
Spanish  plan,  around  patios  in  which  are  fountains  and  flower- 
ing plants.  The  streets  are  narrow  and  paved  with  cobble- 
stones, and  in  most  of  them  the  grass  is  growing  in  the 
crevices.  Electric  lights  illuminate  the  principal  streets  and 
plazas,  and  a  curious  street-car  line  runs  only  after  dark, 
going  from  the  harbor  to  the  railway  station.  No  cars  are 
running  in  the  daytime.  The  explanation  of  this  phenonenon 
is  that  the  traffic  is  not  sufficient  to  justify  a  separate  power 
house,  so  the  trolley  cars  get  their  electricity  from  the  com- 
pany that  lights  the  streets  and  operates  its  dynamos  only 
between  dusk  and  dawn. 

The  harbor  of  Panama  ranks  with  those  of  Rio  de  Janeiro, 
Sydney,  San  Francisco  and  Naples,  and  furnishes  a  beautiful 
panorama  of  irregular  verdant  hills,  with  huge  green-clad 
mountains  in  the  distance.  It  is  fifty  miles  across  the  bay, 
and  scattered  here  and  there  are  odd-shaped  islands  and  gaunt 
rocks  that  protrude  from  the  water.  Upon  one  of  these 
islands  Balboa  fitted  out  his  expedition  for  the  conquest  of 
Peru.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  material  for  the  con- 
struction of  four  brigan tines  was  cut  on  the  Atlantic  side  and 


26     BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

transported  across  the  isthmus  by  thirty  negro  slaves  and  a 
great  number  of  Indians,  who  were  impressed  for  the  service. 
They  toiled  like  ants  over  the  mountains  with  their  ponderous 
burdens  under  the  scorching  rays  of  the  sun.  Many  perished 
because  the  task  was  too  great  for  their  strength.  On  the 
summit  of  the  mountains  a  resting  place  was  provided  where 
the  burden -bearers  refreshed  themselves  and  renewed  their 
vigor.  It  is  difficult  to  understand  this  chapter  in  history,  for 
the  southern  side  of  the  isthmus,  and  particularly  the  islands 
of  the  bay,  abound  in  splendid  timber,  which  might  have  been 
taken  without  difficulty,  at  least  as  easily  as  that  on  the 
northern  coast. 

It  was  on  one  of  these  islands,  too,  that  Francisco  Pizarro, 
Diego  Almagro  and  Ferdinand  de  Luque  organized  an  expedi- 
tion a  few  years  later  which  was  more  successful.  De  Luque 
was  a  priest  and  schoolmaster  at  Panama,  and,  unlike  most 
men  of  his  trade,  was  very  rich.  Pizarro  was  a  swineherd  in 
Spain,  and,  becoming  tired  of  tending  hogs,  enlisted  for  a 
soldier  and  embarked  with  other  troops  for  the  first  colony 
at  Darien,  where  his  boldness  and  natural  ability  soon  made 
him  a  leader.  Almagro  was  a  foundling  of  similar  charac- 
teristics and  history  but  was  not  so  cunning  or  so  bold  as 
Pizarro.  In  some  manner  or  another  these  two  adventurers 
persuaded  De  Luque  to  put  up  the  money  to  fit  out  an  expedi- 
tion for  Peru,  which  Balboa  had  attempted  some  years  before. 
They  had  received  reports  of  its  riches  through  the  Indians 
from  time  to  time,  and  were  eager  to  make  the  attack. 

Upon  the  same  island  where  the  Peruvian  expedition  was 
fitted  out  the  Pacific  Mail  Steamship  Company  has  repair  shops 
and  a  shipyard,  and  just  west  of  it  is  La  Boca,  the  new 
terminus  of  the  Panama  railroad,  where  ships  will  soon  be 
able  to  go  up  to  the  docks.  On  Flamenco  Island  there  is  a 
cemetery,  with  a  big  white  marble  monument  marking  the 
burial  place  of  several  officers  and  sailors  of  the  United  States 
man-of-war  Jamestown,  who  died  here  of  yellow  fever  shortly 
after  the  civil  war.  Another  island,  and  the  largest  in  the 
bay,  called  Taboga,  is  a  summer  resort  where  rich  Panama 
people  have  country  residences  and  spend  a  portion  of  the 


THE  ANCIENT   CITY  OF  PANAMA  27 

year.  It  is  reached  by  a  little  steamer  that  runs  in  and  out 
every  day.  The  bathing  is  good,  the  temperature  is  much 
lower  than  in  the  city,  and  large  springs  are  said  to  furnish 
the  best  water  in  South  America, 

There  are  100  other  islands,  large  and  small.  Some  are 
inhabited  by  fishermen  and  others  shelter  only  birds  of 
brilliant  plumage,  reptiles  and  other  creeping  things.  The 
anchorage  of  the  steamship  companies  is  not  far  from  the 
southern  entrance  to  the  Panama  canal,  where  a  channel 
thirty-two  feet  deep  is  to  be  dredged  for  four  miles  through 
the  coral  bottom  of  the  bay.  Here  a  fleet  of  old  hulks  lies  at 
anchor,  most  of  them  being  used  for  the  storage  of  coal 
brought  all  the  way  from  England,  the  United  States  and 
Australia  in  sailing  vessels  to  supply  merchant  ships  and  men 
of  war.  The  nearest  coal  mines  are  in  Chile,  but  their  product 
is  soft  and  does  not  possess  the  steaming  qualities  of  the  Brit- 
ish and  American  coal.  Recent  discoveries  of  anthracite  in 
northern  Peru  may  result  in  a  solution  of  the  fuel  problem, 
but  at  present  it  is  cheaper  to  bring  coal  from  Cardiff  or 
Baltimore  in  sailing  ships  around  the  Horn. 

Some  of  the  old  hulks  are  mere  skeletons.  Time  and 
thieves  have  treated  them  badly  and  torn  the  skin  from  their 
rusty  ribs.  Among  them  is  the  old  Trujillo,  an  ancient  paddle 
steamer  that  sailed  up  and  down  this  coast  fifty  years  ago,  and 
the  Ayacucho,  the  first  propeller  ever  seen  on  the  west  coast 
of  South  America.  She  was  considered  a  wonder  of  elegance 
and  speed  and  still  retains  her  lines  of  beauty. 

At  one  time  she  was  commanded  by  "Yankee"  Hall,  for 
many  years  commodore  of  the  Pacific  Steam  Navigation 
Company,  who  was  the  original  of  the  second  mate  on  the 
Pilgrim  in  Richard  Henry  Dana's  story,  "Two  Years  Before 
the  Mast."  When  last  heard  from  he  was  still  living  at 
Jamaica  Plains  and  drove  about  old  friends  who  visited  him 
from  Panama  in  an  ancient  gig,  with  an  anchor  at  the  end  of 
a  strap,  to  fasten  his  horse. 

"Yankee"  Hall  came  down  here  some  time  in  the  40's  with 
a  little  side-wheeler  called  the  Favorite,  which  he  ran  in  com- 
petition with  the  Pacific  Navigation  Company,  and  gave  them 


28     BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

so  much  trouble  that  they  bought  him  out  and  placed  him  in 
command  of  their  best  ship.  The  present  commodore  of  their 
fleet  is  Captain  Hooker,  his  son-in-law. 

The  pioneer  of  steam  navigation  on  the  west  coast  of  South 
America  was  William  Wheelwright,  an  enterprising  American 
who  built  the  first  railroad  in  the  Argentine  Republic  and  the 
first  in  Chile.  The  former  connected  Buenos  Ayres  with 
Rosario  and  the  latter  extended  from  Copiapo  to  Caldera. 

Mr.  Wheelwright  conceived  the  plan  of  establishing  a  line 
of  steamers  on  the  coast  and  went  to  New  York  for  capital. 
He  failed  to  interest  moneyed  men  in  that  city,  but  was  more 
successful  in  London,  where  he  organized  the  Pacific  Steam 
Navigation  Company,  which  ever  since  has  been  sending 
steamers  with  great  profit  between  Liverpool  and  Panama. 
A  monument  has  been   erected  in  his  honor  at  Santiago. 

There  is  only  one  vessel  showing  the  United  States  flag  on 
the  West  Coast  these  days,  and  that  is  the  Relay,  a  repair 
steamer  of  the  cable  company,  a  graceful  craft  painted  white 
and  well  fitted  for  the  climate  and  the  duty  it  has  to  perform. 

One  of  the  islands  in  Panama  bay  used  to  belong  to  an 
enterprising  old  lady  from  Connecticut — the  widow  of  a  sea 
captain — and  she  lived  all  alone  there  in  a  little  cabin  for 
several  years  after  her  husband  died.  In  the  course  of  time — 
that  is,  about  ten  years  ago — the  Pacific  Steam  Navigation 
Company  desired  that  particular  island  for  warehouses  and 
repair  shops,  and  when  it  came  to  make  the  purchase  the 
ancient  Yankee  dame  drove  a  very  hard  bargain.  She  made 
it  a  condition  of  the  sale  that  the  company  should  give  her  a 
life  pass  upon  its  steamers  between  Panama  and  Valparaiso 
for  herself  and  a  maid,  to  be  used  at  her  pleasure.  This  was 
done  without  misgivings.  The  manager  of  the  company 
thought  it  was  only  right  to  give  the  old  lady  a  sea  voyage 
now  and  then,  but  experience  caused  him  to  think  differently, 
for  as  soon  as  she  had  conveyed  the  title  to  the  property,  and 
received  a  card  signed  by  the  president  and  general  manager 
granting  her  passage  at  all  times  on  their  line,  she  calmly 
moved  aboard  their  best  steamer,  selected  a  stateroom,  and 
cruised  up  and  down  the  coast  for  several  months.     At  Guay- 


THE  ANCIENT   CITY   OF   PANAMA  29 

aquil,  Callao,  Valparaiso  and  other  of  the  large  ports  she 
would  go  ashore  while  the  ship  was  loading  and  unloading, 
but  she  always  left  most  of  her  traps  in  the  stateroom  and 
came  aboard  again  before  the  sailing  date.  When  she  got 
tired  of  one  steamer  she  would  try  another,  and  was  not  con- 
tented with  getting  her  living  free  of  cost,  but  attempted 
actually  to  make  a  profit  out  of  the  arrangement. 

The  old  lady  had  never  enjoyed  the  luxury  of  a  maid  in  her 
life  before  she  entered  into  this  contract  with  the  steamship 
company,  but  on  several  occasions  brought  a  woman  aboard 
whom  she  introduced  as  such,  and  demanded  that  she  be 
allowed  free  passage.  The  company's  officers  discovered  that 
she  was  collecting  fare  from  these  women — that  is,  scalping 
her  pass — and  declined  to  carry  any  more  of  them.  The  old 
lady  made  a  terrible  fuss  about  it,  and  threatened  to  sue  the 
company  for  violating  its  agreement,  but  a  lawyer  she  con- 
sulted advised  her  not  to  prosecute  the  case,  and  she  reluc- 
tantly abandoned  it.  She  continued  to  live  aboard  the  Pacific 
steamers  until  her  death. 

With  its  ancient  walls  and  fortifications,  its  tall  buildings 
of  gloomy  gray  and  roofs  of  red  tile,  Panama  has  an  oriental 
appearance  as  viewed  from  the  harbor,  and  the  shapely  archi- 
tecture of  the  twin  spires  of  the  cathedral  adds  much  to  the 
beauty  of  the  scene.  The  fortifications  are  feeble  and  crum- 
bling, but  are  picturesque.  The  sea  walls  which  have  resisted 
the  incessant  surf  for  more  than  two  centuries,  are  covered 
with  barnacles  and  moss.  The  caf^s,  which  overlook  the 
water,  seem  cool  and  comfortable  from  the  bay,  but  are  filled 
with  an  all-pervading  smell  which  the  nostrils  of  a  newcomer 
resent,  but  the  acclimated  foreigners  and  natives  have  long 
ago  ceased  to  perceive. 

At  present  the  passengers  and  freight  that  come  and  go 
must  be  carried  in  lighters  between  the  steamers,  three  miles 
out,  and  a  long  landing  pier,  which  extends  into  the  bay  from 
the  Panama  railroad  station,  but  when  the  government  permits 
the  Company  to  use  the  new  port.  La  Boca,  at  the  mouth  of 
the  canal,  all  this  trouble  will  be  avoided.  The  tide  averages 
twenty-five  feet,  but  diminishes  as  you  go  up  and  down  the 


30     BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

coast.  At  the  Bay  of  Fundy  the  tide  rises  seventy-one  feet, 
but  there  are  few  other  places  where  it  is  so  great  as  at 
Panama. 

A  considerable  part  of  the  expense  of  transporting 
freight  to  and  from  the  west  coast  of  Central  and  South 
America  is  due  to  the  difficulty  of  loading  and  unloading  here. 
The  packages  are  taken  from  the  cars  to  a  long  pier,  hoisted 
into  large  iron  lighters,  towed  out  to  the  steamers,  and  hoisted 
into  the  holds  of  the  ships.  This  is,  however,  a  great  improve- 
ment over  the  arrangements  that  formerly  existed,  when  most 
of  the  freight  was  transported  back  and  forth  in  sailboats  and 
wooden  launches. 

The  harbor  fleet  of  the  railroad  company  for  several  years 
was  in  command  of  an  old-fashioned  ''shellback"  sailor  from 
the  State  of  Maine,  by  the  name  of  Rountree.  He  was  a  man 
without  nerves,  conscience  or  sense  of  fear,  and  had  no  respect 
for  anything  but  force.  Had  he  lived  loo  years  before  his 
time  he  would  have  been  a  famous  pirate,  and  was  altogether 
an  odd  and  interesting  character,  of  whose  eccentricities  many 
.stories  are  told. 

Rountree  used  to  knock  the  negfro  roustabouts  around  with- 
out mercy,  and  killed  one  too  many, — a  colored  man  promi- 
nent in  the  church  and  several  secret  societies,  whose  friends 
followed  up  the  case  and  obtained  a  warrant  for  the  captain's 
arrest.  The  latter  had  never  been  arrested  and  swore  he 
never  would  be,  so  he  got  out  the  hose  on  his  tug,  and  when 
the  police  came  down  with  a  posse  he  turned  on  the  hot  water 
and  scalded  them.  They  fled  in  a  panic.  Expecting  them  to 
come  back  with  re-enforcements,  the  captain  cast  off  his  lines 
and  steamed  out  into  the  harbor,  where  he  dropped  anchor, 
and  remained  for  a  week  or  more,  while  the  governor  and 
military  authorities  remonstrated  with  the  railway  men. 
Finally  Colonel  Burt,  the  superintendent,  agreed  to  persuade 
Rountree  to  surrender,  with  the  understanding  that  he  should 
be  banished  and  not  imprisoned.  So  the  captain  came  ashore 
and  took  the  next  steamer  north.  He  went  to  Nicaragua, 
where  he  worked  for  the  canal  company  a  year  or  two,  and 
then  drifted  back  to  the  isthmus.     He  could  not  stay  away. 


THE   ANCIENT   CITY  OF  PANAMA  31 

When  the  friends  of  the  murdered  negro  learned  of  his 
arrival  they  appealed  to  the  authorities,  and,  having-  violated 
his  parole,  Rountree  was  arrested,  thrown  into  prison,  and  a 
few  days  later  was  made  boss  of  the  chain  gang  that  cleans 
the  streets.  Panama  was  a  clean  city  as  long  as  he  was  in 
charge.  He  was  allowed  to  come  and  go  without  interference, 
and  only  went  to  the  jail  when  he  couldn't  get  a  bed  or  a  meal 
elsewhere.  Most  of  his  time  was  spent  sitting  around  the 
barroom  and  balconies  of  the  Grand  Central  hotel. 

By  and  by,  as  the  time  for  his  trial  approached,  the  author- 
ities tried  to  get  rid  of  their  troublesome  prisoner.  He  was 
an  American  citizen,  and  the  murdered  man  was  a  British 
subject  from  Jamaica,  which  threatened  international  compli- 
cations, and  it  was  decided  that  Rountree  must  escape.  At 
first  he  refused  to  do  so,  but  finally  consented,  and  then,  to 
the  horror  of  the  authorities,  insisted  upon  going  around  and 
bidding  everybody  good-by.  He  loafed  around  the  Washing- 
ton hotel  at  Colon  for  a  week  or  two  before  he  sailed,  and 
when  he  did  go  every  foreigner  in  Colon  was  on  the  dock 
to  see  him  off.  As  soon  as  the  ship  was  out  of  sight  the 
governor  issued  a  proclamation  declaring  him  a  fugitive  from 
justice  and  offering  a  reward  of  250  pesos  for  his  capture, 
dead  or  alive.  He  took  great  risks  thereby,  because  if  old 
Rountree  had  ever  seen  the  poster  he  would  have  come  back 
to  the  isthmus  to  claim  the  reward.  He  got  a  job  at  the 
Brooklyn  navy  yard  and  died  there  several  years  ago. 

Howard  Paterson,  of  the  school  of  navigation  in  New  York, 
has  immortalized  this  eccentric  sailor  in  a  story  called  "The 
Captain  of  the  Rajah." 

The  weather  is  not  so  hot  in  Panama  as  it  often  is  at  Wash- 
ington, and  sometimes  in  New  York  and  Chicago.  At  noon 
the  thermometer  showed  82  degrees  on  the  balcony  of  the 
Grand  Central  hotel,  in  Panama,  and  at  bedtime  that  night  it 
stood  at  78.  The  houses  are  built  for  hot  weather,  so  that 
the  same  degree  of  heat  is  not  so  severely  felt  in  this  latitude. 
The  rooms  have  high  ceilings,  wide  windows  and  thick  shut- 
ters to  keep  out  the  sun.  There  is  no  glass  in  the  windows. 
I  doubt  if  there  is  a  pane  of  glass  in  Panama.     The  floors  are 


32      BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

of  tiles,  uncarpeted,  with  rugs  here  and  there.  On  the  shady 
side  of  the  street  you  don't  notice  the  heat  and  on  the  sunny 
side  you  carry  an  umbrella. 

It  would  be  quite  comfortable  in  Panama  if  it  were  not  for 
the  yellow  fever  and  if  people  would  stop  telling  stories  that 
make  you  miserable.  They  have  a  habit  in  all  of  these 
countries  of  entertaining  visitors  with  the  experience  of 
tenderfeet  who  have  suffered  horrors.  It  is  the  same  way  in 
the  mines  and  on  the  ranches  in  the  western  states.  Out 
there  they  call  it  "stampeding."  There  is  no  particular  name 
for  the  nuisance  in  this  country,  and  those  who  tell  you  these 
wretched  yarns  intend  to  be  friendly  and  do  you  a  favor,  but 
many  a  nervous  person  has  been  frightened  into  the  fever  by 
listening  to  the  narrations  of  those  who  have  survived  epi- 
demics. The  chief  officer  of  the  steamer  which  brought  us  to 
Colon,  is  a  first-class  '*stampeder. "  He  has  a  large  fund  of 
yellow-fever  stories;  has  been  sailing  in  the  tropics  for  twenty 
yeiars;  has  made  a  special  study  of  the  disease  and  knows  all 
about  it ;  has  had  hundreds  of  friends  die  horrible  deaths,  and 
most  of  them  have  caught  it  at  long  range — "A  hundred  and 
fifty  yards  to  the  le'ward"  is  just  about  right.  He  never 
knew  a  friend  of  his  to  miss  a  microbe,  and  declares  that 
carriage  drives  about  a  city  are  particularly  conducive  to  germ 
gathering.  Or,  if  you  want  a  dead-sure  thing  on  the  yellow 
fever,  it  is  only  necessary  to  go  to  the  plaza  and  sit  awhile 
tinder  the  shade  of  the  palm  trees.  That  diversion,  he  says, 
is  particularly  fatal  to  Americans. 

I  suppose  well  men  and  women  have  taken  yellow  fever, 
but  very  few  of  them.  When  a  man  is  in  good  condition 
physically,  and  takes  care  of  himself,  is  careful  in  eating  and 
drinking,  and  avoids  exposure  to  dampness  and  the  sun,  it 
takes  a  good  many  microbes  to  throw  him  down,  and  most  of 
the  victims  to  climatic  diseases  are  punished  for  their  own 
imprudence. 

The  bay  at  Panama  used  to  be  a  great  place  for  sharks,  but 
we  lay  four  days  at  anchor  off  Taboga,  while  the  steamer 
Palena  of  the  Chilean  line  was  being  loaded  and  unloaded,  and 
didn't  see  but  one.     He  was  *'a  little  chap,"  and  the  purser 


OF   THK  '  I 

UNIVERSITY 
CALIFOa^ 


THE  ANCIENT   CITY  OF  PANAMA  33 

caught  him  with  a  big  iron  hook  that  the  engineer  made.  It 
was  baited  with  salt  pork,  and  the  shark  snapped  it  greedily, 
but  he  was  a  young  fellow  and  didn't  know  any  better,  and 
measured  only  nine  feet  long. 

*'Taboga  Ben,"  who  had  been  the  terror  of  these  waters  for 
fifty  years,  and  was  personally  known  to  every  skipper  that 
sails  this  coast,  is  dead.  Captain  Leadbetter,  who  tows  freight 
barges  with  the  little  steamer  Bolivar,  got  a  harpoon  into  his 
spine  about  a  year  ago.  *'Ben"  struck  out  at  a  tremendous 
pace  when  the  iron  pierced  his  vertebrae,  and  must  have 
suffered  intense  agony,  for  he  left  a  stream  of  blood  upon  the 
surface  of  the  water.  Leadbetter  rung  the  engine  bell  and 
ordered  on  all  steam  in  pursuit,  so  that  the  cable  shouldn't 
part.  The  little  Bolivar  never  went  through  the  water  so  fast 
as  she  did  that  day.  She  chased  '*Taboga  Ben"  all  over  the 
harbor  of  Panama.  Finally,  exhausted  by  pain  and  the  loss 
of  blood,  and  weakened  by  the  torrent  of  bullets  that  were 
plugged  into  his  head  whenever  he  raised  it  to  the  surface, 
*'Ben"  gave  up  the  struggle,  rolled  over,  and  died. 

He  was  such  a  famous  character,  and  the  public  was  so 
much  excited  by  the  affair,  that  Leadbetter  towed  him  to  the 
Panama  railroad  pier,  hoisted  him  out  of  the  water,  and  laid 
him  out  on  two  platform  cars.  He  weighed  7,000  pounds  and 
measured  forty-six  feet  from  the  nub  of  his  nose  to  the  tip 
of  his  tail. 

For  several  days  the  monster  was  on  exhibition  near  the 
railway  station,  and  everybody  in  town  had  a  good  look  at 
him.  Then,  as  he  began  to  show  signs  of  maturity,  they 
hauled  him  up  into  the  country  and  dumped  him  into  a  ditch, 
which  proved  to  be  a  mistake,  for  during  the  next  three  or 
four  weeks  people  could  smell  him  all  over  the  isthmus.  The 
residents  of  that  region  had  to  abandon  their  homes,  and  all 
the  windows  of  the  cars  had  to  be  tightly  closed  as  the  trains 
on  the  railroad  passed  the  place. 

There  are  several  other  celebrated  sharks  along  the  coast. 
*'San  Jose  Joe,"  who  haunted  the  coast  of  Guatemala,  was 
as  big  as  "Ben,"  and  equally  notorious.  He,  too,  escaped 
conspiracies  for  his  assassination  for  many  years,  but  inadver- 


34     BETWEEN  THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

tently  took  a  dose  of  dynamite.  An  ofi&cer  on  one  of  the 
American  men-of-war  concealed  a  large  piece  of  that  powerful 
explosive  in  a  slab  of  salt  pork,  sewed  it  up  carefully  and 
threw  it  overboard  while  the  vessel  lay  at  anchor  off  San  Jose. 

"Joe"  had  been  hanging  around  for  several  days,  picking 
up  choice  morsels  that  were  discarded  from  the  galley,  and 
swallowed  the  pill.  The  explosion  was  terrific,  and  the 
horizon  was  obscured  by  a  shower  of  shark  meat  for  several 
seconds  after  "Joe"  brought  his  jaws  down  on  that  pork. 

The  magnificent  pearls  that  ornament  the  crown  of  Spain, 
and  those  that  are  so  much  admired  by  tourists  who  visit  the 
cathedrals  at  Seville,  and  Toledo,  were  found  in  oyster  shells 
in  the  bay  of  Panama,  and  the  large  strings  and  clusters  which 
the  Spaniards  took  from  the  Indians  both  on  the  north  and 
west  coasts  of  South  America,  came  from  the  same  source. 
Pearl  fishing  is  still  carried  on  to  a  considerable  extent  at 
Panama.  In  the  spring  of  1899  a  boy  15  years  old  found  an 
oyster  that  concealed  a  jewel  that  was  offered  for  sale  in  Paris 
for  $10,000.  He  received  $4,000  for  it  from  a  negro  specula- 
tor named  Justiana.  The  latter  took  it  to  Panama  and  sold  it 
to  Felix  Erhman,  the  banker,  for  a  considerable  advance  on 
that  price.  At  the  Erhman  banking  house  I  saw  an  assort- 
ment of  pearls  valued  all  the  way  from  $50  to  $4,000,  which 
are  Panama  prices,  and  considerably  lower  than  those  that 
would  be  asked  for  the  same  jewels  in  London,  Paris  or  New 
York. 

Pearl  oysters  are  found  in  all  parts  of  Panama  bay.  Two 
years  ago  an  ordinary  fisherman  found  one  near  Taboga 
island,  not  more  than  half  a  mile  from  the  regular  steamship 
anchorage,  that  contained  a  pearl  worth  $2,400,  but  the  richest 
beds  are  about  thirty  miles  from  the  city.  The  oysters  are 
much  larger  than  those  found  in  northern  waters,  and  the 
shells  are  even  larger  still.  The  oysters  are  rank  and  coppery, 
but  are  healthful  and  are  eaten  by  the  natives.  The  smaller 
ones  are  often  brought  to  the  Panama  market. 

The  Pearl  Islands,  as  they  are  called,  compose  an  archi- 
pelago of  sixteen  islands  and  several  large  rocks,  with  between 
thirty  and  forty  little  villages  of  negroes  and  mixed  Indians, 


THE  ANCIENT   CITY  OF   PANAMA  35 

a  population  of  perhaps  1,000  all  told,  engaged  in  diving.  The 
islands  are  low  and  heavily  timbered,  and  the  soil  is  fertile. 
The  cocoanut  groves  and  long  stretches  of  white  beach  that 
glisten  like  silver  in  the  sun  make  a  pretty  picture.  Most  of 
the  islands  belong  to  Panama  capitalists,  who  cultivate  the 
soil,  as  well  as  manage  the  fisheries.  The  largest,  called  Rey, 
which  has  about  one-half  the  population,  is  fifteen  miles  long 
and  seven  broad.  San  Miguel — St.  Michael — the  chief  town, 
and  headquarters  of  the  "pearlers,"  is  a  cluster  of  palm- 
thatched  huts,  several  stores  built  of  wood  and  corrugated 
iron,  and  a  church  of  stone,  larger  and  more  costly  than  all 
the  rest  of  the  buildings  of  the  town  combined. 

The  population,  mostly  colored,  are  descended  from  the 
slaves  that  were  originally  employed  by  the  Spaniards  in  pearl 
fishing.  Since  freedom  came  in  1824  the  descendants  of  the 
old  villagers  have  carried  on  the  business  under  different 
regulations.  The  divers,  like  the  gold  miners,  who  were  also 
slaves,  were  formerly  kept  in  pens  like  the  diamond  diggers 
of  Brazil  and  South  Africa.  Perhaps  that  was  the  reason  why 
convicts  and  slaves  only  were  used  for  this  work.  It  must 
have  been  difficult  to  induce  independent  citizens,  however 
humble,  to  submit  to  such  treatment ;  but  even  then,  with  all 
the  precautions  that  were  exercised,  the  finest  pearls  were 
smuggled  out  from  the  island. 

The  pearl  is  an  excrescence,  a  deformity,  a  mute  protest  of 
a  helpless  animal  against  an  uncomfortable  condition  it  cannot 
control  or  escape.  It  is  created  by  the  accidental  or  inten- 
tional intrusion  of  some  foreign  substance  into  the  shell  of  the 
oyster  or  mussel,  which  irritates  the  animal  and  thus  increases 
the  flow  of  saliva  or  nacre,  which  crystallizes  around  the 
offensive  article.  The  art  of  cultivating  pearls  has  been 
known  to  scientists  for  many  years,  and  has  become  a  recog- 
nized industry  in  Wisconsin,  in  several  parts  of  Europe,  in 
China  and  Japan. 

The  shell  is  opened  with  a  small  instrument  of  mother  of 
pearl,  the  mantel  of  the  animal  is  gently  lifted,  and  a  particle 
of  sand,  a  pebble,  or  other  foreign  matter  is  placed  carefully 
beneath  it.     The  mollusks  are  then  deposited  in  the  water  at 


36     BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

a  depth  of  from  two  to  five  feet,  where  they  are  fed  with  cer- 
tain vegetation,  which  is  supposed  to  increase  the  secretions. 

The  French  bore  a  hole  through  the  shell  of  the  oyster  or 
the  mollusk  and  insert  a  particle  of  glass,  around  which  the 
saliva  will  adhere. 

The  only  pearls  found  in  the  Atlantic  ocean  are  on  the 
north  coast  of  South  America,  near  Baranquilla,  Colombia, 
and  the  Marguerita  Islands,  off  the  coast  of  Venezuela,  which 
were  discovered  by  Columbus,  but  their  pearls  are  of  a  poor 
quality.  Pearls  are  found  almost  everywhere  in  the  Pacific, 
on  the  coast  of  Mexico  and  Central  America,  as  far  south  as 
Guayaquil,  in  the  Hawaiian,  Samoan,  Caroline,  Ladrone  and 
Polynesian  Islands,  on  the  coast  of  Australia,  and  the  finest 
come  from  the  Indian  Ocean,  near  Ceylon.  The  abundance 
and  the  quality  of  the  pearls  produced  depends  upon  the 
character  of  the  water  in  which  the  mollusk  lives  and  the  food 
it  consumes. 

In  the  bay  of  Panama  the  pearl  divers  who  work  with 
diving  bells  are  required  to  pay  a  license  fee  of  $350  a  year 
and  are  allowed  to  work  wherever  and  as  long  as  they  like. 
Each  diver  usually  goes  down  twice  a  day,  and  remains  under 
the  water  from  half  to  three-quarters  of  an  hour  each  time. 
He  tears  the  oysters  off  the  rocks  and  puts  them  in  a  wire 
basket  which  is  hauled  up  by  a  windlass  to  the  deck  of  the 
schooner  where  they  are  opened  under  the  surveillance  of 
inspectors.  Each  basket  will  contain  forty  or  fifty  oysters, 
and  is  usually  filled  five  or  six  times  while  the  diver  is  down. 
These  divers  are  furnished  licenses,  diving  bells,  and  other 
apparatus  by  the  pearl  merchants  of  Panama  and  are  paid 
regular  wages,  but  almost  every  negro  on  the  island  in  the 
Bay  of  Panama  is  a  pearl  fisher  on  his  own  hook,  and  when- 
ever he  cares  to  do  so  he  dives  naked  at  low  tide  and  brings 
up  two  or  three  oysters  in  his  hands.  This  is  difficult  work, 
for  the  oysters  are  fastened  to  the  rocks  and  it  takes  a  good 
deal  of  strength  to  wrench  them  off. 

Pearl  diving  is  a  great  gamble.  A  negro  diver  may  often 
go  down  a  hundred  times  without  getting  a  single  pearl,  and 
his  only  reward  is  the  shell,  which  is  worth  from  thirteen  to 


THE  ANCIENT   CITY   OF   PANAMA  37 

fourteeen  cents  a  pound.  Mr.  Piza,  the  largest  dealer  in 
Panama,  told  me  that  his  boat  took  100  tons  of  shell  one 
season  without  finding-  a  single  pearl,  and  then  daily  for  four 
or  five  days  in  succession  secured  two  or  three  of  the  finest 
pearls  he  had  ever  seen. 

The  pearl  fisheries  in  the  Bay  of  Panama  pay  about 
$500,000  in  pearls  and  $250,000  in  shells  per  year.  The  shells 
are  sent  to  New  York,  Paris  and  Antwerp,  where  they  are 
used  for  making  buttons,  knife  handles,  ornaments  and  for  all 
sorts  of  purposes.  The  pearls  go  to  Paris,  where  they  are 
distributed  to  other  markets.  Very  few  are  sent  to  New  York 
or  to  other  ports  of  the  United  States  because  of  the  high 
duty.  There  is,  however,  more  or  less  smuggling,  as  a  pearl 
can  be  concealed  from  a  custom  house  officer  about  as  easily 
as  any  merchandise  that  can  be  imported. 

Pearls  are  increasing  in  value  for  two  reasons — the  growing 
scarcity  and  the  growing  demand.  Forty  people  can  afford 
to  buy  pearls  to-day  where  one  was  able  to  do  so  twenty  years 
ago.  A  fine  pearl  commands  any  price  the  owner  may  ask  for 
it,  although  pearls  are  not  considered  a  safe,  permanent 
investment,  like  diamonds,  because  they  are  perishable  and 
decay  with  time.  None  of  the  celebrated  pearls  of  to-day  are 
old,  and  heirlooms  that  have  been  kept  for  several  genera- 
tions gradually  lose  their  luster  and  their  value. 

The  most  beautiful  pearl  in  existence  is  in  the  crown  of 
one  of  the  former  Czars  of  Russia  and  is  on  exhibition  in  the 
Kremlin  at  Moscow.  It  is  a  perfect  sphere,  and  so  pure  as  to 
appear  almost  transparent.  It  weighs  ninety  grains.  The 
next  finest  in  the  world  is  known  as  the  Hope  pearl  and  is 
owned  by  an  English  nobleman.  There  is  a  remarkable  pearl 
in  the  crown  of  an  image  of  the  Virgin  at  Saragossa,  Spain, 
and  another  of  equal  value  in  a  cross  in  the  cathedral  at 
Seville,  which  is  said  to  have  been  brought  from  America  by 
one  of  the  early  conquistadores. 

A  few  years  ago  an  American  traveler  purchased  for  100 
marks  an  antique  gold  brooch  that  he  found  in  a  bric-a-brac 
shop  in  a  small  town  in  the  interior  of  Germany.  In  the 
center  of  the  setting  was  a  spherical  jewel  that  was  supposed 


38     BETWEEN  THE   ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

to  be  hematite,  a  species  of  iron  ore,  but  when  the  brooch  was 
brought  to  the  United  States  and  sent  to  Tiffany's  to  be 
cleaned  the  piece  of  iron  turned  out  to  be  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  gems  ever  exposed  to  view.  It  was  a  black  pearl 
valued  at  $12,000.  An  attempt  was  made  to  trace  the  owner- 
ship of  the  brooch,  but  it  could  only  be  learned  that  the  pawn- 
broker had  received  it  from  a  stranger  some  years  before  as 
security  for  a  small  loan  and  that  the  owner  apparently  had 
no  knowledge  of  its  value. 

The  romantic  story  of  Cleopatra's  pearls  dissolved  in  wine 
was  invented  by  one  who  was  not  familiar  with  their  composi- 
tion. Pearls  cannot  be  dissolved  in  wine  or  vinegar,  but  they 
can  be  eaten  by  certain  powerful  acids,  which  would  have 
burned  the  beautiful  throat  of  Cleopatra  so  that  she  would 
have  died  instantly. 

The  enormous  amount  of  gold  found  among  the  Indians  by 
the  conquistadores,  the  rich  product  of  the  mines  in  the 
Spanish  colonial  period,  the  successful  raids  of  the  pirates  and 
the  buccaneers  that  used  to  haunt  these  coasts,  have  naturally 
given  rise  to  many  tales  of  buried  treasures,  and  one  of  them 
involves  the  Cocos  Island,  a  small  "spot"  of  ground  belonging 
to  Costa  Rica,  in  latitude  5  degrees  and  32  minutes  and  longi- 
tude 87  degrees  and  2  minutes,  about  400  miles  southwest  of 
Panama. 

The  story  goes  that  in  182 1,  during  the  revolution  which 
separated  the  colonies  from  Spain,  the  wealthy  Spaniards  of 
Central  America,  fearing  that  their  houses  would  be  looted 
and  their  savings  seized  by  the  natives  in  rebellion,  loaded  a 
schooner  with  gold  and  gems  and  silver  plate  and  sent  it,  in 
charge  of  a  committee,  to  Cocos  Island,  to  be  buried  until  the 
troubles  were  over.  Each  of  the  committee  of  six  men  had  a 
chart  of  its  location.  One  was  killed  during  the  revolution. 
Two  died  from  natural  causes  before  it  was  over.  When 
peace  was  restored  the  other  three  started  for  Cocos  to  bring 
back  the  wealth,  but  were  never  heard  from  again.  Their 
boat  is  supposed  to  have  been  driven  on  the  rocks  of  the  island 
and  all  on  board  perished.     This  was  about  1830. 

No  further  attempt  was  made  for  several  years  to  obtain 


THE  ANCIENT  CITY   OP  PANAMA  39 

the  treasure,  but  then  the  heirs  of  the  dead  and  the  other 
owners  of  the  property  began  to  stir  things  up  and  organize 
expeditions  for  its  recovery.  Several  parties  went  over  with 
gangs  of  men  to  do  the  digging,  but  never  brought  anything 
home.  Alleged  copies  of  the  chart  were  made  and  sold  to 
speculators  after  the  secret  had  become  generally  known,  and 
through  the  hands  of  sailors  found  their  way  to  all  parts  of 
the  world.  Clandestine  syndicates  of  treasure-hunters  were 
formed  and  expeditions  were  sent  secretly  from  New  York, 
San  Francisco  and  London,  as  well  as  from  Panama  and  Cen- 
tral America.  There  has  been  a  good  deal  of  fighting  and  a 
good  deal  of  fever,  for,  although  the  island  is  an  attractive 
place,  it  is  as  unhealthy  as  the  Garden  of  Hesperides.  The 
Angel  of  Death  seems  to  guard  the  buried  treasure  of  Cocos 
Island  as  the  dragon  guarded  the  golden  apples  there. 

Cocos  arises  abruptly  from  the  sea,  with  broken  walls  of 
rock  that  are  almost  perpendicular.  There  is  occasionally  a 
ravine,  down  which  a  stream  of  water  rushes,  or  a  strip  of 
sandy  beach,  against  which  the  surf  breaks  with  great  vio- 
lence. The  entire  surface  is  covered  with  luxuriant  vegeta- 
tion, great  spreading  trees,  strange  plants  and  vines  and 
beautiful  foliage,  which  furnish  a  remarkable  field  for  botan- 
ical research.  There  are  many  large  streams  also,  and  several 
small  lakes,  300  or  400  yards  across,  deep  reservoirs  of  pure, 
cold  water  bubbling  up  from  the  center  of  the  earth.  It  is  said 
to  be  the  finest  water  in  the  Pacific. 

According  to  these  tales,  Cocos  Island  must  be  an  ideal 
place  for  a  Robinson  Crusoe.  It  has  abundant  fish  and  water 
fowls,  turtles  are  plentiful  and  crabs  of  prodigious  size,  and 
the  woods  are  full  of  wild  pigs  and  goats  that  were  abandoned 
by  the  early  inhabitants  and  have  multiplied.  The  great 
objection  is  the  moisture.  The  island  lies  in  what  the  sailors 
call  the  doldroms,  a  strip  of  sea  a  few  degrees  north  of  the 
equator,  between  the  east  and  the  west  trade  winds.  In  that 
region  there  is  seldom  any  breeze,  and  sailing  vessels  always 
avoid  it  for  fear  of  getting  becalmed.  The  rainy  season 
extends  the  year  aroimd,  and  the  precipitation  is  so  large  as  to 
be  almost  incredible. 


40     BETWEEN   THE  ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

In  1898,  the  Imperieuse,  flagship  of  the  British  squadron 
of  the  north  Pacific,  with  Rear- Admiral  Palliser  in  command, 
came  all  the  way  from  Vancouver  to  Cocos,  under  orders  from 
London  to  investigate  the  claims  of  one  Charles  Hartford,  an 
Englishman  who  had  a  concession  from  the  government  of 
Costa  Rica  to  search  fot  the  treasure  on  commission,  and  had 
interested  a  capitalist  by  the  name  of  E.  A.  Harris  to  become 
his  * 'angel"  and  furnish  him  with  funds.  At  the  time  of  this 
visit  the  only  inhabitants  of  Cocos  were  a  German  family 
named  Gerster,  the  remnants  of  a  colony  of  Germans  who  had 
come  from  Costa  Rica,  but  abandoned  the  place  after  a  few 
months'  residence  because  of  the  unhealthy  climate.  They 
did  considerable  prospecting  and  found  traces  of  lead  and 
quicksilver,  but  no  gold  or  treasure. 

Two  or  three  hundred  sailors  from  the  Imperieuse  were 
sent  ashore  with  picks  and  spades,  and  dug  trenches  in  par- 
allel lines  six  feet  apart  and  ten  feet  deep  at  the  place 
indicated  by  a  chart  which  Hartford  brought  with  him,  but 
they  found  nothing.  He  showed  them  also  a  tunnel  or 
cavern  in  the  rocks,  which  they  blew  up  with  dynamite,  with- 
out a  sign  of  the  $30,000,000  of  silver  plate  and  jewels  and 
gold.  It  rained  torrents  all  the  time,  and  digging  was  not 
only  difiScult,  but  dangerous,  as  there  were  several  landslides. 
Hartford  was  left  at  San  Jose  de  Guatemala,  where  he  endea- 
vored to  persuade  the  captain  of  the  United  States  steamer 
Alert  to  go  down  and  continue  the  work,  but  the  Imperieuse 
returned  to  Vancouver  with  nothing  but  a  story. 

Hartford  found  his  way  to  Panama  and  remained  there 
for  several  weeks.  He  loafed  around  the  American  consulate, 
lamenting  his  bad  luck  and  telling  people  what  he  intended 
to  do  with  the  treasure  if  he  ever  found  it.  Stories  of  buried 
gold  among  the  ruins  of  old  Panama,  which  was  destroyed  by 
Morgan,  the  English  pirate,  200  years  ago,  excited  Hartford, 
and,  hiring  a  negro  laborer,  he  spent  several  weeks  examining 
the  crumbling  walls  and  slimy  cellars  of  the  ancient  city.  He 
returned  to  Panama  for  another  short  period  in  May,  1899,  and 
then  went  with  his  negro  assistant  into  the  mountains  of  the 
Isthmus  of  Darien  in  pursuit  of  another  "will  o'  the  wisp  '* 


THE  ANCIENT  CITY  OF  PANAMA  41 

During  the  latter  part  of  AugTist  the  negro  returned  to 
Panama  alone  and  told  inquirers  that  Hartford  had  died  of 
fever  in  the  mountains,  but  no  one  took  enough  interest  in  the 
subject  to  report  the  matter  to  the  consul-general.  Suspicion 
was  excited  because  of  contradictory  statements  made  by  the 
negro,  and  some  of  the  American  residents  decided  to  make 
an  investigation,  but  the  negro  suddenly  disappeared  and  has 
not  been  heard  from  since. 

Hartford  came  originally  from  Connecticut,  but  said  very 
little  about  himself  and  never  received  any  letters,  so  that  his 
m5''Sterious  disappearance  could  only  be  communicated  to  the 
state  department  as  a  matter  of  record  for  the  interest  of 
whom  it  may  concern. 


IV 
CRUISING  ALONG  THE  WEST  COAST 

The  voyage  from  Panama  down  the  west  coast  of  South 
America — or  rather,  up  the  west  coast,  as  the  sailors  say,  just 
as  we  say  "down  in  Maine,"  in  defiance  of  geography — is  one 
of  the  most  charming  that  salt  water  affords.  You're  always 
sure  of  fine  weather,  fine  ships  and  a  smooth  sea.  It  never 
rains,  it  never  blows,  and  the  swell  is  not  heavy  enough  to 
make  ordinary  people  seasick.  From  the  morning  after  leav- 
ing Panama  until  Valparaiso  is  reached  the  ships  follow  the 
shore,  and  the  passengers  are  often  in  sight  of  the  Andes, 
whose  feet  are  buried  in  dense  verdure,  whose  breasts  are 
wrapped  in  foamy  clouds  and  whose  peaks  are  crowned  with 
spotless  snow,  which  sparkles  forever  and  ever  under  the 
tropic  sun.  The  spectacle  of  Chimborazo,  rising  like  a  king 
among  an  army  of  Titans,  is  unsurpassed  by  any  mountain 
view  on  earth,  unless  it  be  the  peak  of  Teneriff,  approached 
from  the  westward.  Chimborazo  has  nearly  twice  the  alti- 
tude— more  than  22,000  feet — and  until  Mount  Everest  in  the 
Himilayas  was  measured,  was  mentioned  in  the  geographies 
as  the  highest  peak  on  the  globe ;  but  it  is  eighty  miles  from 
the  sea,  and  can  only  be  seen  in  very  clear  weather,  while  the 
peak  of  Teneriff  springs  directly  from  the  ocean  and  therefore 
seems  more  massive  and  magnificent. 

The  weather  on  the  south  Pacific  is  always  fair,  and  the 
heat  is  tempered  by  three  causes — the  antarctic  current,  the 
trade  winds  from  the  ocean,  and,  when  they  are  lacking,  by 
breezes  from  the  eastward,  which  are  cooled  to  freshness  as 
they  pass  over  the  mountain  snows.  From  Guayaquil  south- 
ward to  Coquimbo,  including  the  entire  coast  of  Peru  and  the 
north  half  of  Chile,  a  distance  of  about  2,200  miles,  is  a  rain- 
less region,  which  is  called  the  Zone  Seca  by  the  Spaniards, 

42 


CRUISING  ALONG  THE  WEST   COAST  43 

or  "Dry  Zone."  The  trade  winds  blowing  from  the  east 
leave  in  the  Andes  all  the  moisture  they  have  brought  from 
the  Atlantic  ocean,  and  when  they  reach  the  dry  desert  plain 
the  air  is  so  rarified  that  they  produce  a  partial  vacuum, 
which  is  filled  by  a  constant  stream  of  air  from  the  ocean, 
which,  of  course,  is  much  cooler  than  the  plain.  This  influ- 
ence extends  1 00  miles  off  the  shore,  and  thus  there  is  always 
a  cool  breeze  blowing  from  one  direction  or  the  other,  either 
over  the  cold  waters  of  the  antarctic  current  or  the  snows  of 
the  Cordilleras. 

The  temperature  was  much  cooler  after  we  left  Panama 
than  it  was  at  any  time  between  New  York  and  Colon.  On 
the  Caribbean  Sea  the  trade  winds  followed  the  ship  and  we 
got  no  benefit  from  them.  The  air  was  warm  and  sultry  and 
the  nights  particularly  uncomfortable,  although  we  had  deck 
staterooms  with  a  door  and  two  windows  open  and  a  transom 
in  the  roof.  The  thermometer  on  shipboard  never  fell  below 
84  degrees  after  passing  Watling's  Island,  which  is  in  23 
degrees,  56  minutes,  40  seconds  north  latitude,  about  the  same 
as  Havana. 

We  crossed  the  equator  at  6:15  p.  m.,  Sunday,  July  2. 
The  thermometer  stood  at  76  degrees  in  the  chartroom  on  the 
shady  side  of  the  ship  and  at  78  degrees  in  the  companionway 
leading  to  the  dining  saloon.  A  fresh  breeze  was  blowing 
from  the  southwest,  the  swell  was  a  little  heavier  than  usual, 
and  a  few  white  caps  ornamented  the  surface  of  the  ocean. 
After  dinner  that  evening  it  was  so  cool  that  we  pulled  our 
chairs  to  the  leeward  of  the  cabin,  the  ladies  put  on  light 
wraps,  and  about  10  o'clock,  when  I  retired,  the  mercury 
stood  at  72  degrees. 

On  the  Fourth  of  July,  where  we  lay  in  quarantine  in  the 
Guayas  River,  thirty-five  miles  below  Guayaquil  and  three 
degrees  south  of  the  equator,  it  was  doubtless  cooler  than  in 
either  Chicago  or  New  York.  At  8  a.  m.  the  thermometer 
marked  74  degrees  in  the  companionway,  at  noon  it  was  76 
degrees,  and  at  4  p.  m.,  it  was  81  degrees.  On  July  5  it  was 
78  degrees  when  we  went  ashore  to  the  city  of  Guayaquil  at  8 
o'clock  in  the  morning.     It  was  84  degrees  at  10:30  in  the 


46     BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

carrying  on  her  bargains  and  gossip  at  the  same  time.  At 
night  time  and  between  ports  she  puts  her  goods  away  in 
chests,  boxes,  bags  and  barrels,  unfolds  a  wire  woven  cot, 
unrolls  a  mattress,  spreads  a  pair  of  clean  sheets  and  a  soft 
pillow  with  edging  on  the  slip,  and,  in  the  midst  of  her  mer- 
chandise, lies  down  to  pleasant  dreams. 

The  Guayas  is  a  mighty  river,  one  of  the  largest  in  South 
America,  and  drains  an  enormous  area  on  the  western  slope 
of  the  Cordilleras.  Guayaquil  is  thirty-five  miles  from  its 
mouth.  There  are  ninety-one  rivers  in  Ecuador,  composing 
two  great  systems,  one  flowing  eastward  into  the  Amazon  and 
the  other  westward  into  the  Guayas.  The  eastern  slope,  or 
Amazon  section,  is  completely  covered  with  vast  forests.  The 
western  section  contains  the  inhabited  portion  of  the  country 
and  is  cultivated  along  the  coast.  In  the  mountains,  the 
earth,  like  the  air,  is  dry,  and  irrigation  is  necessary  to  pro- 
duce ordinary  crops,  but  this  portion  of  the  country  is  so 
sparsely  settled  that  a  very  few  acres  serves  to  supply  the 
wants  of  the  people,  and  most  of  the  land  is  given  up  to 
pasturage. 

It  is  said  that  every  crop  that  grows  can  be  produced  some- 
where in  Ecuador,  and  it  is  probably  true,  for  the  two  great 
ranges  of  the  Andes,  sloping  on  the  one  side  to  the  sea  and  on 
the  other  to  the  jungles  of  the  Amazon,  furnish  almost  any 
climate  and  degree  of  moisture  or  aridness  and  every  variety 
of  soil.  The  foothills  and  the  mountains  are  filled  with 
valleys,  canyons,  gorges  and  plateaus,  while  between  the  two 
ranges,  which  are  from  forty  to  sixty  miles  apart  and  run 
nearly  parallel  to  each  other,  and  the  Pacific  coast  there  is  a 
great  basin,  from  7,000  to  10,000  feet  above  the  sea,  which  is 
almost  denuded  of  timber,  but  is  capable  of  sustaining  a  large 
population.  Indeed,  it  was  densely  settled  before  the  Span- 
iards came,  but  their  cruelty  almost  exterminated  the  aborig- 
inal inhabitants. 

Nowhere  on  earth,  except  in  Bolivia,  can  be  found  such  an 
assemblage  of  mountains.  Along  the  eastern  chain  are  found 
eleven  peaks  above  15,000  feet  in  height,  with  Chimborazo  as 
their  chief,  whose  peak  is  nearly  22,000  feet  above  the  sea. 


CRUISING  ALONG  THE   WEST   COAST  47 

There  are  seventeen  other  peaks  ranging  from  10,000  to 
14,800  feet  high.  Ten  of  them  are  active  volcanoes,  and  have 
covered  a  large  area  around  them  with  ashes,  lava  and  pumice 
stone.  The  volcanic  ashes,  however,  have  rare  fertilizing 
qualities  and  are  soon  covered  with  vegetation  wherever  there 
is  moisture. 

On  either  side  of  the  Guayas  River  is  a  dense  growth  of 
tropical  vegetation,  steaming  under  a  vertical  sun — the  very- 
hothouse  of  nature,  where  plants  and  trees  spring  up  almost 
in  a  night  to  wage  a  desperate  war  for  existence  and  where 
every  monarch  of  the  forest  is  attacked  by  tons  of  vines, 
mosses,  orchids  and  other  parasites  until  his  trunk  and 
branches  are  covered  and  the  exhausted  giant  is  often  borne 
to  earth  under  their  weight.  Back  of  these  forests,  on  the 
foothills  on  either  side  of  the  river,  is  a  vast  area  of  fine 
pasturage,  which  gradually  rises  until  the  Andes  are  reached. 
The  snow  line  in  Ecuador  is  higher  than  at  any  other  place 
on  earth,  because  it  lies  directly  upon  the  equator  and  the 
rays  of  the  sun  fall  perpendicularly  at  all  seasons.  Mount  St. 
Bernard,  the  highest  point  of  permanent  human  habitation  in 
Europe,  is  only  8,377  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  while  the 
Tamdo  de  Antisana,  one  of  the  highest  towns  in  Ecuador,  lies 
at  an  elevation  of  13,360  feet. 

The  Isla  del  Muerto,  or  Dead  Man's  Island,  which  lies 
in  the  Bay  of  Guayaquil,  bears  a  striking  resemblance  to  a 
corpse  floating  on  its  back.  The  head,  the  neck,  the  breast, 
the  swollen  stomach,  the  legs  and  turned-up  toes  appear 
even  more  lifelike  than  the  *' white  woman"  that  lies  upon 
the  summit  of  the  volcano  Issatazhuatl,  near  the  City  of 
Mexico. 

The  Guayas  River  has  a  peculiar  way  of  splitting  into  two 
parts  a  few  miles  below  the  city  of  Guayaquil,  in  order  to 
admit  the  incoming  tide.  It  is  a  broad,  swift,  turbid  stream, 
resembling  the  lower  Mississippi.  The  channel  is  from  thirty 
to  forty  feet  deep,  but  on  either  side  the  water  is  quite  shal- 
low, and  there  is  usually  a  current  of  about  seven  miles  an 
hour.  It  is  a  curious  fact  that  when  the  tide  comes  up  from 
the  ocean,  as  it  does  twice  a  day,  it  is  not  met  with  resistance, 


48     BETWEEN   THE   ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

but  the  river,  with  true  Spanish  politeness,  gives  it  the  middle 
of  the  road,  so  to  speak,  and  retires  to  both  sides  of  the 
channel.  Thus  may  be  seen  the  phenomena  of  three  streams, 
one  flowing  up  in  the  center  at  the  rate  of  about  four  knots  an 
hour,  and  the  others  flowing  down  on  either  side  at  the  rate  of 
seven  knots.  One  is  salt,  two  are  fresh.  One  has  a  deep 
green  color;  the  other  two  are  a  muddy  brown,  and  the  divid- 
ing lines  are  further  marked  by  a  fringe  of  froth,  floating 
weeds,  driftwood  and  other  debris,  which  seems  bewildered, 
or  perhaps  indifferent,  and  stands  still,  without  joining  either 
stream  or  flowing  in  either  direction,  until  the  tide  turns  and 
all  the  waters  commingle  and  go  down  together  to  the  sea. 

The  Guayas  is  a  great  place  for  alligators,  and  the  natives 
have  a  curious  way  of  killing  them  for  their  hides.  They  take 
to  the  water  naked,  with  the  exception  of  big  straw  hats  on 
their  heads,  with  the  brims  a  yard  wide,  and  long  knives  in 
their  teeth.  They  swim  along  among  the  'gators,  and  when 
one  of  the  reptiles  opens  his  jaws  and  goes  for  him  the  swim- 
mer dives,  leaving  his  hat  on  the  surface  for  the  alligator  to 
chew  on,  and  plunges  the  knife  into  the  monster's  vitals. 

In  tropical  South  America  there  is  always  a  choice  of  cli- 
mates,— three  zones  they  are  called, — varying  in  temperature 
from  perpetual  summer  to  eternal  winter.  Along  the  coast  is 
the  first  zone,  or  the  tierra  caliente  (hot  earth),  where  the 
temperature  seldom  goes  below  85  in  the  shade,  and  usually 
lingers  in  the  neighborhood  of  100.  This  is  the  land  of  the 
banana,  the  pineapple,  the  sugar  cane,  the  palm  and  the 
orchid.  The  next  zone  is  the  tierra  templada,  comprising 
table  lands  and  foothills  from  three  thousand  to  seven  thou- 
sand feet  in  altitude,  where  the  climate  is  a  perpetual  spring, 
where  it  is  June  from  January  to  December,  and  where  coffee, 
as  well  as  all  the  fruits,  vegetables  and  cereals  of  the  temper- 
ate latitude  are  grown.  Then,  farther  up  the  Andes  is  the 
tierra  fria  (cold  earth),  on  the  edges  of  which  the  cattle 
browse;  but  beyond  them  the  snow  lies  always,  even  under 
the  equatorial  sun. 

The  principal  cities  and  most  of  the  settlements  are  on  the 
coast,  because  of  the  difficulties  of  transportation;  and  in  the 


CRUISING  ALONG  THE   WEST   COAST  49 

interior  beyond  the  mountains,  lies  an  empire  unmeasured  and 
unexplored,  watered  by  the  mightiest  of  rivers,  shaded  by 
forests  whose  limits  are  unknown,  and  abounding  in  all  the 
resources  that  man  has  found  in  other  parts  of  the  globe.  The 
branches  of  the  great  river  Amazon  intersect  those  of  the 
Orinoco,  and  a  man  in  a  canoe  may  enter  the  mouth  of  one 
and,  sailing  through  the  interlocking  streams,  emerge  from 
the  mouth  of  the  other  without  leaving  the  water.  From  the 
sources  of  the  Parana,  that  great  natural  thoroughfare  of  the 
southern  half  of  the  continent,  it  is  but  a  trifling  distance  to 
the  head  of  navigation  on  the  Amazon.  Within  the  embrace 
of  these  great  streams  are  supposed  to  lie  the  richest  mineral 
deposits  in  the  universe,  and  there  the  ancient  voyageurs 
located  the  mythical  city  Manoah,  the  El  Dorado  of  which  the 
world  dreamed  for  centuries,  and  which  invoked  more  ambi- 
tion and  more  avarice  than  anything  man  has  known. 

There  is  good  reason  to  believe  the  government  of  Ecua- 
dor will  permit  the  United  States  to  establish  a  naval  station 
on  one  of  the  Galapagos  Islands,  providing  we  will  pay  the 
price.  Ecuador  has  scruples  against  selling  its  territory,  but 
would  be  willing  to  lease,  provided  the  other  American  repub- 
lics would  not  object.  Therefore,  if  satisfactory  terms  can  be 
arranged  a  naval  supply  and  coaling  station  will  sometime  be 
established  on  San  Cristobal,  or  Chatham  Island,  as  it  is 
named  upon  the  English  maps,  the  fourth  in  area  of  the 
sixteen  islands  that  compose  the  archipelago. 

Chatham  Island  is  owned  by  a  naturalized  American  citizen 
named  Manuel  J.  Cobos,  who  has  a  plantation  there  called  the 
Hacienda  del  Progresso.  He  has  already  signified  his  willing- 
ness to  convey  to  the  United  States  all  the  land  and  water 
rights,  timber  and  other  building  material  and  everything  else 
in  his  possession  that  may  be  needed  for  the  naval  station 
without  compensation,  but  the  government  of  Ecuador,  which 
exercises  sovereignty  over  the  archipelago,  will  expect  to  be 
paid  a  liberal  sum,  either  in  a  lump,  or  in  annual  installments. 

Captain  Tanner,  of  the  navy,  who  made  a  thorough  survey 
of  the  islands  in  1891,  when  the  subject  of  a  lease  or  purchase 
was  under    consideration    by  the    Harrison    administration, 


50     BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE  OCEAN 

reports  that  Chatham  is  the  most  desirable  in  every  respect  of 
all  the  islands,  having  plenty  of  water,  timber  and  other 
facilities,  a  healthy  climate,  a  fertile  soil  and  good  harbors. 
Sefior  Cobos  is  the  only  resident  of  the  island.  He  has  a  fairly 
good  house  and  owns  a  group  of  ^cabins  that  are  occupied  by 
his  employes. 

The  Galapagos  islands  are  of  volcanic  origin,  being  moun- 
tainous, with  prominent  peaks,  fertile  foothills  and  numerous 
extinct  craters.  Chatham  is  covered  with  trees  and  other 
vegetation,  and  the  foliage  is  always  fresh  and  green. 

The  location  of  the  islands  not  only  makes  them  desirable 
as  a  naval  station,  but  the  certainty  of  the  construction  of  a 
canal  across  the  isthmus  at  some  time  or  another  under  the 
auspices  of  the  United  States  makes  their  strategic  importance 
of  first  consideration.  From  Chatham  Island  it  is  620  miles  to 
Guayaquil,  840  to  Panama,  1,010  miles  to  Callao,  2,190  miles 
to  Valparaiso,  2,430  miles  to  Lota,  Chile,  where  the  coal  mines 
are,  2,990  miles  to  San  Francisco,  4,200  miles  to  Honolulu, 
5,699  miles  to  Pago  Pago,  where  we  have  our  naval  station  in 
the  Samoan  Islands,  5,900  miles  to  Auckland,  7,100  miles  to 
Sydney,  7,800  miles  to  Manilla,  and  2,831  miles  to  New  York, 
by  way  of  the  Nicaragua  Canal. 

The  government  of  the  United  States  has  time  and  again 
been  guilty  of  great  folly,  and  if  the  Fillmore  administration 
had  been  possessed  of  ordinary  foresight  and  patriotism  we 
would  have  owned  one  of  the  Galapagos  Islands  now.  In  1850 
William  Hollister,  of  Buffalo,  being  en  route  to  California,  met 
at  Panama  Gen.  ]os6  Villimil,  and  was  persuaded  to  join  in  a 
revolutionary  movement  in  Ecuador,  which  proved  successful, 
and  Villimil  became  president  of  that  republic.  At  the  end  of 
his  term  he  came  to  Washington  as  the  minister  of  Ecuador, 
and  through  Hollister  offered  the  United  States  the  island  of 
St.  Charles  as  a  supply  station  for  our  ships  in  the  Pacific.  The 
secretary  of  the  navy  promised  to  send  the  sloop  St.  Marys, 
which  was  then  cruising  in  the  Pacific,  to  make  a  survey  and 
report  and  take  possession  of  the  territory,  but  in  some  man- 
ner the  matter  was  overlooked  and  forgotten.  There  is  no 
record  in  the  files  of  the  State  Department  or  the  navy  of  any 


CRUISING  ALONG  THE  WEST  COAST  51 

formal  reply  to  the  Villimil  proposition,  which  was  probably- 
due  to  a  change  of  administration  shortly  after,  in  1853. 

And  away  back  during  the  War  of  181 2,  we  came  very  near 
taking  the  islands  by  "expansion."  Then  they  still  belonged 
to  Spain.  In  those  days  there  was  a  great  deal  of  whaling  in 
the  South  Pacific,  and  the  whalers  from  Dundee  being  much 
more  numerous  and  more  powerfully  armed  with  cannon,  and 
commissioned  with  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal,  drove  the 
Nantucket  and  New  Bedford  whalers  out  of  that  part  of  the 
ocean.  To  protect  those  that  were  left  and  administer  proper 
punishment,  Commodore  Porter  went  around  the  Horn  in  the 
frigate  Essex  and  sailed  for  the  Galapagos  Islands,  which  was 
the  rendezvous  of  the  British  whaling  fleet.  On  Chatham 
Island  he  captiired  a  dry  water  cask  that  was  used  by  the 
Britishers  as  a  postoffice,  and  overhauling  the  letters  it  con- 
tained he  got  a  good  idea  of  the  movements  of  the  fleet. 
Hence,  within  the  next  three  or  four  months  he  captured  or 
destroyed  every  British  whaler  on  that  part  of  the  sea  and 
took  prizes  valued  at  more  than  $5,000,000.  There  were  so 
many  prizes  to  take  charge  of  that  the  only  officers  left  on  the 
Essex  were  the  commodore  and  the  surgeon's  mate.  Every 
officer  on  the  frigate  was  detailed  for  the  command  of  a  prize, 
even  the  doctor  and  the  chaplain,  the  paymaster  and  the  cap- 
tain of  marines,  including  Mr.  Midshipman  Farragut,  who  was 
then  only  12  years  old,  but  who  proved  himself  quite  capable 
of  commanding  a  whaler  of  400  tons. 

With  all  this  fleet  around  him.  Porter,  who  was  only  a  cap- 
tain, broke  out  the  pennant  of  a  commodore  and  took  posses- 
sion of  the  Galapagos  Islands  under  the  flag  of  the  United 
States.  Unfortunately,  however,  he  could  not  spare  the  men 
for  a  garrison,  and  when  he  sailed  away  the  only  thing  he 
could  do  to  hold  his  title  was  to  leave  the  stars  and  stripes 
floating  from  a  flagpole  on  Chatham  Island. 

When  Commodore  Porter  got  home,  instead  of  being  hailed 
as  a  hero,  he  was  court-martialed  for  disobedience  of  orders, 
and  for  having  exceeded  his  authority.  He  was  found  guilty 
and  sentenced  to  suspension  for  six  months,  which  made  him 
so  indignant  that  he  resigned  his  commission  and  went  to 


52      BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

Mexico,  where  he  organized  a  navy  for  that  young  republic 
soon  after  its  independence.  He  was  the  father  of  the  late 
Admiral  Porter. 

The  future  prosperity  and  material  development  of  Ecua- 
dor depend  upon  the  construction  of  a  railway  from  Guayaquil 
to  Quito  and  other  points  in  the  interior.  This  has  been 
realized  by  the  leading  men  of  the  country  for  many  years, 
and  each  president  has  attempted  with  more  or  less  energy,  to 
carry  out  the  scheme.  Garcia  Moreno,  who  was  the  greatest 
man  Ecuador  has  produced,  and  who  was  dictator  there  from 
1861  to  1875,  laid  the  first  rail  in  this  country  and  completed  a 
track  about  sixty  miles  long  from  the  head  of  navigation  on 
the  Guayas  River  to  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  where  the 
mule  trail  to  Quito  begins,  but  he  got  no  farther,  and  under 
his  successors  the  road  became  overgrown  with  the  rank 
vegetation  of  the  jungles  and  was  practically  abandoned. 
Camaaiio  cleared  away  the  brush,  bought  a  couple  of  new 
engines  and  repaired  the  track  and  it  has  since  been  operated 
for  the  government  by  an  American  manager.  Alfaro  deter- 
mined to  complete  the  road  to  Quito,  and  one  of  his  first  acts 
when  he  assumed  power  was  to  enter  into  a  contract  with  Mr. 
Archer  Harmon  for  the  construction  of  the  road  on  account  of 
the  government,  from  a  place  called  Duran,  on  the  east  bank 
of  the  Guayas  River  opposite  Guayaquil,  to  Quito,  a  distance 
of,  perhaps,  350  miles.  The  contract  was  approved  by  con- 
gress, and  Mr.  Harmon,  of  Virgfinia,  organized  a  syndicate  in 
New  York  and  London  to  supply  the  capital,  made  a  survey, 
organized  a  corps  of  engineers  and  a  construction  company, 
and  commenced  work  in  June,  1899. 

Mr.  Harmon  is  to  receive  $12,282,000  in  first  mortgage  6 
per  cent  bonds,  interest  and  principal  secured  by  a  lien  upon 
the  customs  revenues  of  the  republic,  with  a  sinking  fund 
sufficient  to  redeem  them  in  thirty-three  years.  He  is  also  to 
receive  $5,250,000  of  preferred  stock,  with  7  per  cent  interest 
guaranteed,  and  5 1  per  cent  of  the  common  stock.  In  other 
words  he  is  to  receive  $17,532,000  in  stock  and  bonds  guaran- 
teed by  the  government  of  Ecuador  for  the  construction  of  the 
road,  and  also  a  title  to  the  sixty  miles  of  track  which  is  now 


f 


CRUISING  ALONG   THE   WEST   COAST  53 

in  operation  between  Duran  and  Chimbo,  but  which  will  have 
to  be  rebuilt,  as  the  roadbed  is  poor,  new  ties  and  rails  are 
badly  needed  and  the  gauge  must  be  changed  to  forty  inches 
according  to  the  contract  for  the  extension. 

The  railroad  cannot  be  built  with  local  labor.  There  are 
probably  600,000  Indian  peons  in  the  country.  Not  one  of 
them  owns  an  inch  of  real  estate,  and  most  of  them  are  more 
or  less  in  a  state  of  slavery  under  the  planters  or  haciendados 
upon  whose  estates  their  families  have  lived  for  centuries. 
They  are  short,  broad  and  muscular,  with  skins  of  copper- 
color,  resembling  that  of  the  North  American  Indians,  long, 
straight,  shiny  hair  and  scanty  beard,  or  none  at  all.  They 
resemble  the  Pueblo  Indians  of  New  Mexico  and  the  Aztecs 
of  Mexico.  Their  predominant  characteristic  is  melancholy. 
They  are  reticent  and  extremely  distrustful  and  look  upon  all 
strangers  with  suspicion.  The  Indian  of  the  interior  is  so 
suspicious  that  he  will  sell  nothing  at  wholesale,  nor  will  he 
trade  anywhere  but  in  the  market  place  on  the  spot  where 
his  forefathers  have  sold  garden  truck  for  three  centuries. 
Although  travelers  upon  the  highways  meet  numerous  Indians 
on  their  way  to  market  bearing  heavy  burdens  of  vegetables, 
forage  and  other  supplies,  and  driving  droves  of  donkeys 
similarly  laden,  nothing  can  induce  an  Indian  to  sell  anything 
from  his  stock  until  he  has  reached  the  place  where  he  is 
accustomed  to  offer  it  for  sale.  He  will  carry  his  load  ten 
miles  and  dispose  of  it  for  less  than  he  was  offered  at  a  point 
half  that  distance,  simply  because  he  is  a  slave  to  custom  and 
is  suspicious  of  everything  in  the  way  of  an  innovation. 

A  gentleman  who  lives  in  one  of  the  towns  of  the  interior 
told  me  once  that  he  had  been  trying  for  years  to  persuade  the 
Indians  who  passed  his  house  every  morning  with  packs  of 
alfalfa  to  sell  him  a  supply  regularly  at  his  gate,  but  they 
refused  to  do  so.  Consequently  he  was  compelled  to  go  four 
miles  into  town  to  buy  alfalfa  that  was  carried  past  his  own 
door,  but  the  seller  willingly  carried  it  back  and  delivered  it, 
thus  packing  his  load  eight  useless  miles  because  it  had  been 
the  habit  of  his  family  to  do  so. 

My  friend  also  told  me  that  no  woman  in  the  market  would 


54     BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

sell  more  than  a  dozen  eggs  to  one  customer,  not  even  if  she 
were  offered  double  the  price.  She  would  give  him  one  dozen 
eggs  for  lo  cents,  but  would  not  sell  five  dozen  for  $i ;  she 
would  give  a  gourd  full  of  potatoes  for  a  penny,  but  would  not 
give  five  gourdfuls  for  lo  cents  or  20  cents  or  any  other  price, 
simply  because  she  was  not  accustomed  to  sell  potatoes  in  such 
quantities  and  any  attempt  to  induce  her  to  depart  from  cus- 
tom excited  the  suspicion  which  is  the  predominating  trait  of 
her  race.  Four  centuries  of  Spanish  tyranny,  duplicity  and 
deception  have  destroyed  the  faith  of  the  entire  race  in  white 
people,  but  when  their  confidence  is  once  gained  nothing  can 
shake  it.  The  devotion  between  the  peons  and  their  masters 
is  often  similar  to  that  which  existed  between  the  negro  slaves 
in  the  south  and  the  members  of  the  kindly  families  in  which 
they  had  been  reared. 

It  is  easy  to  see  that  such  labor  would  be  very  intractable 
in  a  railway  construction  gang,  even  if  it  could  be  obtained. 
It  would  be  difficult,  also,  if  not  impossible,  to  induce  the 
Indians  to  use  modern  implements.  They  are  accustomed  to 
their  own  primitive  methods  of  labor  and  their  own  rude  tools, 
and  will  not  use  anything  else. 

The  first  section  of  the  road,  as  I  have  said,  is  now  in  oper- 
ation from  Duran,  a  little  town  across  the  river  from  Guaya- 
quil, across  a  low  alluvial  and  swampy  region  which  lies 
between  the  Andes  and  the  ocean,  and  is  partially  reclaimed 
and  planted  to  sugar  cane,  coffee,  rice  and  other  crops. 
Chimbo,  the  eastern  terminus  of  the  road,  lies  at  an  elevation 
of  1,130  feet  at  the  foot  of  the  western  range  of  the  Andes, 
which  run  parallel  with  the  Pacific  coast.  The  second  section, 
from  Chimbo  to  Sibambe,  runs  for  sixty  miles  through  the 
forest  slope  of  the  mountain  to  an  altitude  of  8,136  feet,  and 
is  the  most  difficult  and  expensive  in  construction.  The 
country  is  very  rough  and  rocky,  the  rise  is  rapid  and  the 
track  will  have  to  be  cut  out  of  the  hillside. 

The  remainder  of  the  road,  from  Sibambe  to  Quito,  230 
miles,  will  run  through  what  is  known  as  the  inter-Andine 
plateau,  which  lies  between  the  two  great  ranges  of  mountains 
known  as  the  Andes  and  the  Cordilleras.     In  Ecuador  these 


CRUISING  ALONG  THE  WEST  COAST  55 

parallels  are  connected  by  eight  transverse  ranges,  nearly 
equidistant  from  each  other,  which  arise  like  buttresses  to 
support  the  main  chains,  and  have  been  compared  to  the 
rounds  of  a  gigantic  ladder.  In  the  parlance  of  the  country 
they  are  known  as  *'nudos,"  or  knots.  These  ridges  rise  to 
an  elevation  of  from  10,000  to  15,000  feet,  but  can  usually  be 
crossed  through  passes  9,000  or  10,000  feet  above  the  sea. 
The  basins  between  them  have  a  mean  elevation  of  8,000  feet 
and  abound  in  every  crop  that  the  world  knows. 

There  are  to  be  no  engineering  difficulties  in  this  section 
of  the  projected  railroad,  and  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
route  is  already  graded  and  prepared  for  the  rails  in  the  "Via 
Real"  of  the  Incas,  one  of  the  most  magnificent  pieces  of 
highway  construction  that  was  ever  carried  out,  built  several 
hundred  years  before  the  coming  of  the  Spaniards  and  yet 
in  good  condition,  nothwithstanding  the  lack  of  repairs. 

In  this  part  of  the  country  is  found  the  largest  portion  of 
the  population  and  the  greatest  area  of  cultivated  soil  in 
Ecuador,  which,  however,  has  been  inaccessible  to  markets 
except  by  rough  and  uncertain  mule  paths.  The  landowners 
are  very  little  in  advance  of  the  peons.  They  are  indifferent 
to  modern  methods  and  machinery  in  the  cultivation  of  their 
estates ;  they  prefer  the  primitive  methods  that  were  practiced 
by  their  forefathers ;  they  hold  their  labor  in  a  state  of  peon- 
age; they  know  nothing  of  the  outside  world;  very  few  of 
them  have  ever  been  a  day's  journey  away  from  the  spot  upon 
which  they  were  bom,  and  the  entire  community  have 
advanced  but  little  during  the  last  200  years. 

This  is  the  class  of  people  and  this  is  the  character  of  the 
country  which  President  Alfaro  desires  to  reach  with  the  "obra 
redentora,"  or  "redeeming  work,"  as  they  call  it,  of  the  rail- 
way. This  is  not,  however,  a  new  enterprise,  as  I  have  said. 
It  has  been  attempted  again  and  again  by  previous  presidents, 
but  this  time  the  promoters  seem  to  be  in  earnest  and  have 
the  money  to  carry  out  their  plans. 

It  is  asserted  that  cacao  is  the  most  profitable  crop  that 
grows,  that  is,  provided  the  locality,  the  climate  and  other 
conditions  are  favorable.     It  requires  a  low,  moist,  rich  soil, 


56     BETWEEN   THE   ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

the  bottom  lands  of  a  river  preferred,  a  copious  rainfall,  a 
high  temperature  and  a  hot  sun.  The  average  cost  of  produc- 
tion under  such  conditions  is  about  $3.50  per  quintal  and  the 
market  price  is  $12  gold  per  quintal.  It  is  much  better  than 
coffee  or  wheat,  corn  or  cotton,  because  the  price  does  not 
fluctuate  and  the  demand  is  always  greater  than  the  supply. 
There  are  drawbacks,  of  course.  A  drought  will  affect  the 
yield  of  the  trees  considerably  and  sometimes  destroy  the 
entire  crop.  Birds  and  monkeys  and  various  parasites  attack 
the  trees  so  that  continual  vigilance  is  necessary  to  protect 
them,  but  the  expense  is  small,  and  a  good  crop  can  usually 
be  depended  upon. 

Ecuador  produces  nearly  one-third  of  the  entire  cacao  used 
in  the  world.  The  total  is  estimated  at  75,000  tons.  The 
average  crop  in  Ecuador  is  22,000  tons.  Trinidad  and  the 
other  British  West  Indies  send  an  average  of  19,000  tons  to 
market,  7,500  tons  comes  from  Brazil,  6,000  tons  from  Ven- 
ezuela, 4,500  tons  from  Dutch  Guiana,  4,000  tons  from  Haiti, 
3,000  from  Colombia,  8,000  from  Africa,  2,500  tons  from  the 
East  Indies,  and  smaller  amounts  are  grown  in  Mexico  and 
the  countries  of  Central  America,  but  little  more  than  is 
required  for  home  consumption. 

Cacao  is  a  native  of  Mexico  and  was  grown  in  large  quan- 
tities by  the  Aztecs  at  the  time  of  the  conquest.  They  called 
it  "chocolatl."  The  Spaniards  called  it  "cascara  quahuitl." 
The  history  of  Ecuador  does  not  tell  when  the  plant  was 
introduced  there,  but  the  soil  and  climate  were  recognized  as 
very  favorable  and  as  long  ago  as  1741  the  statistics  record  an 
annual  production  of  3,000,000  pounds.  There  are  now  about 
45,000,000  trees  in  the  country.  These  are  planted  in  rows 
four  or  five  yards  apart  and  are  usually  grown  from  the  seed. 
The  tree  reaches  a  height  of  twenty  or  thirty  feet,  the  trunk 
attains  a  thickness  of  eight  or  ten  inches  and  the  blossom  is  a 
small,  pink,  waxlike  flower  It  grows  directly  out  of  the  bark 
of  the  trunk  and  branches,  and  not  at  the  end  of  twigs,  like 
other  fruits.  When  it  fructifies  the  petals  fall  off,  and  the 
stamens  in  the  course  of  two  months  develop  into  an  oblong 
pod  or  melon  with  dark  golden  rind,  about  eight  or  ten  inches 


CRUISING  ALONG  THE   WEST   COAST  57 

long,  and  filled  with  beans  about  the  size  and  shape  of  an 
almond.  These  are  imbedded  in  a  gummy  pulp  and  are 
removed  by  the  use  of  a  rude  implement  made  from  the  rib  of 
a  steef.  When  the  pods  are  ripe  they  are  cut  from  the  tree 
by  pruning  knives  attached  to  the  ends  of  long  poles.  The 
pods  are  opened,  the  seeds  are  extracted  and  spread  upon  a 
floor  of  cement  or  split  bamboo  for  three  or  four  days  under 
the  hot  sun.  Then  they  are  put  in  sacks  and  shipped  to 
Guayaquil,  where  the  cacao  is  cleaned  of  splinters,  dirt  and 
defective  beans,  assorted  according  to  quality  and  again 
exposed  to  the  sun  before  being  packed  in  sacks  for  shipment 
to  the  United  States  and  Europe. 

France  is  the  greatest  consumer,  taking  about  16,000  or 
17,000  tons  a  year.  Germany  comes  next  and  often  surpasses 
France.  England  uses  ten  or  twelve  tons  annually  and  the 
United  States  15,000  or  16,000  tons. 

Cacao  is  the  basis  of  several  important  medicines,  the 
active  principle  agent  being  theobroma,  a  powerful  organic 
reagent.  Under  chemical  analysis  the  cacao  bean  shows  forty- 
nine  parts  fat,  nineteen  parts  albumen  and  twelve  parts  starch. 
The  largest  amount  is  consumed  in  the  manufacturing  of  con- 
fectionery and  other  forms  of  food.  The  shells  of  the  seed  are 
roasted  and  sold  as  a  substitute  for  tea  and  coffee.  The  oil 
extracted  from  the  seeds  is  the  basis  of  tonics,  pomades  and 
butter  which  has  remarkable  curative  properties.  The  pulp 
of  the  pod  is  a  favorite  fodder  for  animals. 

Although  the  production  of  cacao  in  Ecuador  is  already 
considerable,  the  area  under  cultivation  is  insignificant  com- 
pared with  that  available,  and  a  large  field  for  enterprise  is 
offered  there  which  the  natives  are  slow  to  utilize,  chiefly 
because  of  the  lack  of  capital  and  energy.  There  is  a  gradual 
increase  in  the  produt  of  late  years  and  the  industry  will  con- 
tinue to  grow  because  it  is  so  profitable.  The  largest  planta- 
tions are  owned  by  wealthy  Ecuadorians,  who  find  it  to  their 
pleasure  to  reside  in  Paris  and  receive  their  profits  through 
the  administrators  they  leave  in  charge  of  their  estates. 

A  first-class  hacienda  is  worth  about  $150,000  in  Ecuado- 
rian silver,  which  is  about  $75,000  gold,  which  includes  all  the 


S8     BETWEEN  THE  ANDES  AND  THE   OCEAN 

improvements,  appurtenances,  implements,  and  other  assets 
belonging  to  the  plantation,  including  the  money  advanced  to 
the  peon  laborers,  all  of  which  generally  amounts  to  about  20 
per  cent  of  the  total  value,  leaving  about  80  per  cent  as  the 
cost  of  the  trees.  It  is  much  cheaper,  however,  to  buy  wild 
lands  and  plant  new  orchards.  Large  tracts  can  be  obtained 
from  the  government  for  $1  (gold)  an  acre  or  thereabouts,  or 
from  private  individuals  anywhere  from  $4  to  $15  an  acre,  but 
the  title  to  private  lands  often  are  defective  and  purchasers 
should  be  extremely  careful  in  having  them  examined.  The 
laws  affecting  the  transfer  and  inheritance  of  real  property  are 
so  complex  and  confusing  that  Solomon  himself  would  find  it 
difficult  to  administer  them.  A  title  direct  from  the  govern- 
ment is  not  only  clear  and  indisputable,  but  the  government 
lands  are  quite  as  good  as  any  that  can  be  found  in  private 
hands. 

In  starting  a  new  plantation  the  common  practice  is  to 
make  a  contract  with  a  **sembrador,"  a  man  of  experience  in 
the  business,  who  will  agree  to  clear  the  land  and  bring  an 
orchard  to  a  state  of  bearing  with  a  fixed  number  of  trees  at 
the  rate  of  from  20  to  30  cents  a  tree.  The  proprietor  fur- 
nishes the  land  and  advances  money  to  the  "sembrador"  from 
time  to  time  until  the  trees  begin  to  bear  fruit,  when  he  pays 
the  final  installment  and  takes  the  property  in  charge. 

The  "sembrador"  first  clears  the  ground  of  underbrush, 
leaving  the  large  trees  and  the  wild  cacao  trees,  which  are 
frequent  in  all  the  forests  having  been  propagated  by  seed 
which  monkeys  and  birds  have  scattered.  The  wild  trees  are 
not  so  prolific,  but  improve  with  cultivation. 

While  the  plants  are  young  the  space  between  them  is 
planted  with  corn,  arrowroot  and  bananas,  with  the  double 
object  of  protecting  the  delicate  shoots  from  the  sun  and 
securing  an  immediate  income  from  these  crops.  The  cacao 
plant  begins  to  bear  when  five  or  six  years  old.  It  reaches 
maturity  in  the  tenth  year  and  continues  to  bear  for  several 
generations.  The  first  few  years  the  trees  are  pruned  occa- 
sionally in  order  that  they  may  •*run  to  fruit"  rather  than  to 
foliage,  but  no  fertilizer  is  used  except  leaves  and  other  vege- 


CRUISING   ALONG  THE   WEST   COAST  59 

table  matter  found  in  the  vicinity,  and  the  only  attention 
necessary  is  to  keep  the  orchard  clear  of  weeds  and  the  trees 
free  from  parasites. 

The  average  yield  is  about  one  pound  of  beans  per  tree, 
but  that  may  be  increased  considerably  by  cultivation  and 
careful  pruning.  No  scientific  farming  has  ever  been  done  in 
Ecuador.  The  most  primitive  methods  are  in  use.  There 
has  been  no  change  for  two  centuries,  and  there  is  no  telling 
what  the  application  of  intelligence  and  botanical  science  to 
the  cultivation  of  cacao  might  result  in.  A  hacienda  of 
100,000  trees  will  therefore  produce  1,000  quintals  of  beans  at 
a  low  estimate,  making  a  liberal  allowance  for  failures  and 
accidents.  At  the  present  market  price  this  would  be  worth 
$22,500.  The  cost  of  the  crop,  according  to  the  present  prim- 
itive methods,  would  be  about  $7,500,  including  taxes  and 
transportation  to  Guayaquil,  leaving  a  profit  of  $15,000,  which 
experts  tell  me  is  far  below  the  average  income  of  plantations 
containing  100,000  trees,  which  are  valued  in  the  mortgage 
banks  at  $75,000  gold  when  in  good  condition. 

The  banks  of  Guayaquil  are  accustomed  to  make  advances 
to  the  planters ;  in  fact,  the  most  of  the  latter  live  ahead  of 
their  incomes,  as  the  cotton  kings  of  the  south  used  to  do 
before  the  war,  and  pay  10  and  12  percent  interest.  Mort- 
gage loans  are  made  for  twenty-one  years  at  9  or  10  per  cent, 
at  the  rate  of  50  cents  for  each  tree  in  bearing. 

Native  Indians  are  generally  employed  upon  the  planta- 
tions, and  paid  from  50  to  80  cents  a  day  in  silver,  which  is 
equivalent  to  about  half  as  much  in  our  money.  They  are 
brought  from  the  mountains  by  employment  agents  when 
needed,  under  contracts  which  are  as  bad  and  usually  worse 
than  slavery.  There  are  no  laws  for  the  protection  of  the 
poor.  All  the  statutes  are  in  the  interest  of  the  rich.  The 
contracts  are  registered  in  the  police  courts,  and  no  laborer 
can  leave  an  employer  without  the  latter' s  consent,  or  as  long 
as  he  owes  him  money.  Therefore  the  first  step  in  the  rela- 
tion of  employer  and  employed  is  for  the  latter  to  overdraw 
his  wages  at  the  plantation  supply  store,  which  he  is  always 
eager  to  do  if  permitted.     Then  he  becomes  a  slave  for  life. 


6o     BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

for,  unless  the  employer  wants  to  get  rid  of  him,  the  debt  is 
never  canceled.  It  may  amount  to  only  a  few  dollars,  but  it 
is  the  cause  of  servitude  all  the  same.  If  the  peon  runs  away 
the  planter  reports  the  fact  to  the  police,  who  recapture  him, 
and  the  expense  of  the  pursuit  and  prosecution  is  charged 
against  him,  and  fastens  his  shackles  all  the  firmer.  If  he 
wants  to  change  his  residence  he  must  get  somebody  to  buy 
him  by  paying  his  debts.  If  his  employer  wants  to  get  rid  of 
him  he  sells  him  for  the  amount  of  his  indebtedness  to  some 
other  planter,  without  consulting  him  or  his  welfare. 

In  this  way  a  system  of  peonage  has  come  about  that  is  the 
curse  of  the  country.  A  peon  is  not  worth  half  as  much  as  a 
mule,  and  therefore  is  not  so  well  treated.  He  is  often 
abused  and  ill  fed,  compelled  to  live  in  unhealthy  surround- 
ings and  under  the  most  degraded  conditions,  with  even  less 
care  and  comfort  than  his  forefathers  enjoyed  during  the  days 
of  legalized  slavery.  The  natural  consequence  is  a  rapid 
decadence  of  the  race,  both  morally  and  physically,  for  in  his 
desperate  state  the  peon  can  have  no  self-respect,  no  ambition 
and  no  purpose,  except  to  forget  his  misery  in  drink  and  other 
vices  that  not  only  undermine  his  constitution,  but  are  trans- 
mitted to  his  children,  who  grow  up  among  similar  conditions 
to  enter  the  employment  of  his  master  as  soon  as  they  are  old 
enough  to  be  useful. 

Of  course  there  are  exceptions  to  this  rule.  There  are 
some  haciendas  on  which  the  laborers  are  treated  with  patri- 
archal kindness  and  to  which  they  are  devotedly  attached. 
The  same  families  have  lived  there  for  generations  and  feel  a 
proprietary  interest  in  the  plantations,  but  peons  are  seldom 
educated,  they  seldom  advance  beyond  the  conditions  in  which 
they  were  bom  and  there  is  no  future  for  them  or  their 
children. 

Until  1899  the  educational  system  of  Ecuador  was  under 
the  control  of  the  priests,  and  the  parochial  schools  offered  a 
meager  opportunity  for  the  children  of  the  poor  who  live  in 
the  cities  and  villages,  to  obtain  the  rudiments  of  learning. 
They  were  taught  to  read  and  write  and  the  simple  rules  of 
arithmetic,  but  the  attendance  was  comparatively  limited. 


CRUISING  ALONG  THE   WEST   COAST  6i 

Not  one  child  out  of  ten  in  the  country  attended  even  these 
schools,  and  outside  of  the  towns  there  were  no  facilities  what- 
ever. Therefore  about  75  per  cent  of  the  population  of  Ecua- 
dor is  illiterate. 

Suppose  10,000  youngsters  were  taken  annually  from  the 
mud  huts  of  the  cacao  plantations  and  trained  to  be  good 
citizens.  In  fifteen  or  twenty  years  the  laboring  classes  of 
Ecuador  would  be  entirely  regenerated  and  there  would  be 
some  hope  for  this  country.  The  children  are  very  bright. 
They  have  quick  perception  and  retentive  memories,  but  when 
they  become  2 1  years  of  age  they  seem  to  lose  their  wits  and 
are  transformed  into  stupid,  stolid,  stubborn  creatures  with  a 
limited  degree  of  intelligence,  and  incapable  of  being  trained 
to  anything  but  the  roughest  sort  of  labor.  This  transforma- 
tion is  explained  by  biologists  on  the  theory  of  arrested 
development — that  the  mind  becomes  dwarfed  for  lack  of 
exercise,  just  as  a  limb  might  be.  Men  who  have  suffered 
solitary  confinement  have  lost  the  power  of  speech,  and  the 
peons  of  Ecuador,  having  had  their  mental  faculties  developed 
to  a  certain  degree  in  childhood,  become  dull,  because  their 
reasoning  powers  and  perceptions  are  no  longer  employed. 


V 

THE  DECEPTIVE  CITY  OF  GUAYAQUIL 

From  the  deck  of  a  steamer  in  the  evening  Guayaquil  looks 
like  a  little  Paris.  It  lies  along  the  bank  of  the  river,  and  the 
main  street,  called  El  Malecon,  stretches  for  two  miles  or 
more,  from  a  shipyard  to  a  fortress-crowned  hill.  El  Cerro, 
where  there  is  a  gloomy-looking  fort  with  two  decrepit  old 
guns,  which  are  supposed  to  protect  the  shipping  in  the  har- 
bor. The  Malecon  appears  to  be  lined  with  long  blocks  of 
beautiful  marble  and  stone,  and  in  the  evening  every  window 
is  brilliantly  illuminated.  The  imagination  of  the  stranger 
can  find  plenty  of  material  to  build  romances.  Here  appears 
a  row  of  palaces,  then  a  group  of  clubs,  and  beyond  a  series  of 
blazing  ballrooms.  Some  people  recognize  a  resemblance  to 
Algiers  and  Constantinople  in  the  water  front,  or  the  little 
cities  that  hug  the  beautiful  bays  of  Italy.  Consul  de  Leon 
says  it  looks  like  New  Orleans,  and  there  is  a  resemblance  to 
the  levees  that  lie  along  the  river,  where  the  freight  is  piled 
up  in  little  mountains  waiting  to  be  stowed  away  aboard  the 
steamers. 

In  the  morning  from  shipboard  the  illusion  is  not  dispelled, 
but  the  view  is  quite  as  imposing.  The  architecture  is  pure 
and  graceful ;  much  of  it  is  of  the  Moorish  order,  the  rest  is  on 
more  delicate  lines.  The  long  portales,  or  arcades,  that  front 
the  river,  are  like  the  shops  on  the  Rue  de  Rivoli,  in  Paris, 
and  above  them  are  balconies  sheltered  by  blinds  and  awnings 
of  gay  canvas,  which  have  an  oriental  look,  and  occasionally 
you  catch  a  glimpse  of  a  group  of  gentlemen  or  ladies  seated 
before  the  windows  looking  out  upon  the  long  street  which  is 
at  once  the  principal  retail  shopping  place,  the  favorite  prom- 
enade and  the  docks  where  lighters  are  loaded  with  cargoes 
for  the  steamers  anchored  in  the  river. 

62 


THE   DECEPTIVE   CITY  OF  GUAYAQUIL        63 

Along  this  street  is  a  little  railway  on  which  tiny  cars, 
drawn  by  a  diminutive  locomotive,  bring  from  and  take  to  the 
various  warehouses  heavy  loads  of  merchandise,  cocoa,  sugar 
and  other  freight,  which  is  piled  upon  the  docks  according  to 
a  classification  under  the  direction  of  the  customs  officers, 
who  collect  an  export  as  well  as  an  import  duty  upon  every- 
thing that  comes  and  goes.  In  the  center  is  a  custom  house 
built  of  corrugated  iron  from  Pittsburg,  with  the  gay  flag  of 
Ecuador,  whose  broad  stripes  of  yellow,  blue  and  red  float 
from  a  pole  that  rises  from  the  little  cupola. 

At  the  southern  end  of  this  long  street  is  a  busy  market, 
where  hundreds  of  curious  boats  and  broad-bosomed  rafts 
loaded  with  vegetables,  fruits  and  other  produce  from  the 
upper  river  and  its  tributaries  moor  every  morning  at  early 
dawn  and  sell  their  cargoes  to  the  grocers  and  hucksters  and 
other  patrons.  Still  farther  down  is  a  shipyard  where  gangs 
of  men  are  busy  building  small  boats.  Occasionally  a  curious 
little  steamboat,  that  looks  like  a  turtle,  comes  puffing  and 
snorting  along  with  a  load  of  passengers  and  freight  and  uses 
a  screeching  whistle  to  proclaim  its  superiority  of  speed  and 
size  over  the  humble  dugouts  and  balsas. 

Behind  this  picturesque  scene  rise  the  artistic  walls  of  the 
houses  and  the  slender  spires  of  a  dozen  churches,  each 
crowned  with  a  gilded  cross,  and  the  city  creeps  up  the 
rugged  hills  that  form  a  background  to  the  picture.  Between 
two  of  them,  in  what  they  call  La  Silla,  is  a  cream-colored 
hospital,  the  largest  and  most  conspicuous  object  in  the  land- 
scape. 

But  when  yoii  go  ashore  you  find  that  you  have  been  the 
victim  of  an  optical  illusion.  The  imposing  edifices  of  marble 
are  simply  shells  of  plastered  bamboo,  trimmed  with  orna- 
ments of  stucco  and. painted  in  artistic  designs.  The  elastic 
houses  are  constructed  with  a  view  of  defying  earthquakes  and 
admitting  the  greatest  amount  of  air  consistent  with  privacy, 
and  the  architects  have  succeeded  to  a  remarkable  degree. 
Every  design  has  a  purpose,  and  the  chief  end  of  man  is  to 
secure  the  highest  degree  of  comfort  and  luxury  in  an  abom- 
inable climate. 


64     BETWEEN   THE   ANDES  AND   THE  OCEAN 

There  has  been  a  remarkable  improvement  in  Guayaquil 
since  I  first  visited  this  city,  fourteen  years  ago.  This  is  due 
chiefly  to  a  big  fire  and  a  progressive  president.  In  October, 
1896,  about  two-thirds  of  the  town  was  entirely  destroyed,  at 
least  three-fourths  of  the  inhabitants  were  rendered  tempo- 
rarily homeless,  and  many  lost  everything  they  possessed. 
The  greatest  destruction  occurred  in  the  older  part  of  the 
place,  where  some  of  the  blocks  had  been  standing  for  200 
years  and  were  in  an  advanced  stage  of  dilapidation  and 
decay.  There  had  been  fires  before — in  1707,  1764,  1830,  and 
184 1 — but  none  was  so  destructive,  and  it  was  only  a  stiff  wind 
from  the  south  that  saved  the  west  of  Guayaquil  in  1896. 

The  city  has  also  suffered  severely  from  volcanic  eruptions 
and  earthquakes,  being  almost  entirely  destroyed  in  1587, 
1660,  and  1797.  The  last  serious  earthquake  occurred  in 
1859.  These  were  genuine  tierra-motors,  or  ** world-shakers," 
when  the  battalion  of  volcanoes,  which,  under  the  command 
of  Chimborazo,  guards  this  coast,  got  reckless  and  shook  the 
earth  with  such  mighty  force  that  mountains  crumbled,  can- 
yons yawned,  the  bowels  of  the  earth  were  exposed,  rivers 
came  tumbling  down  in  torrents  where  were  only  dry  valleys 
before,  and  the  bluffs  that  lined  the  coast  tumbled  over  into 
the  sea.  These  great  cataclysms  that  change  the  topography 
of  the  country  occur  only  once  in  a  century  or  so,  but 
**tremblors,"  a  gentler  kind  of  shakeup,  and  "trembloritos," 
little  earthquakes,  are  quite  common. 

Consul-General  de  Leon  described  one  that  took  place  in 
May,  1899,  when  the  elastic  houses  bent  and  swayed  like  a 
tent  of  canvas  in  a  gale,  when  the  walls  took  a  diagonal  posi- 
tion and  then  reversed  themselves,  the  pictures  swung  like 
pendulums,  and  tables,  bureaus,  and  chairs,  danced  about  on 
the  polished  floors.  On  such  occasions  everybody  rushes  into 
the  streets  to  avoid  the  falling  tiles,  or  stands  under  the  near- 
est doorway  to  escape  the  rain  of  plaster.  The  houses  are 
built  especially  for  such  emergencies.  The  walls  are  of  split 
bamboo,  the  timbers  are  joined  by  bolts  of  iron,  with  sufficient 
room  to  play  in,  and  the  ceilings  are  of  cotton  sheeting, 
stenciled  or  painted  in  pretty  designs  in  imitation  of  fresco. 


THE   DECEPTIVE   CITY   OF  GUAYAQUIL        65 

When  they  build  a  house  in  Guayaquil,  they  first  level  the 
ground  and  then  lay  a  low  foundation  of  stone.  Upon  that 
are  laid  heavy  timbers  of  lignum  vitae,  to  which  the  uprights, 
the  stringers,  and  other  heavy  timbers,  are  bolted  with  iron, 
as  I  have  described.  Then  slender  pieces  of  lighter  timber  are 
run  up  and  down  and  covered  on  the  outside  and  inside  with 
strips  of  split  bamboo  lashed  together  with  cord  or  withes  into 
slabs  one  foot  or  eight  inches  wide.  Sometimes  the  roof  is 
thatched  with  straw  and  palms,  sometimes  it  is  made  of  tiles, 
and  a  great  deal  of  corrugated  iron  is  used.  The  latter  is  the 
favorite  material  for  warehouses  and  similar  structures.  It  is 
the  largest  article  of  import  into  this  country  and  is  rolled  very 
thin  for  building  purposes. 

Wide  balconies  are  built  on  the  outside  of  all  the  houses 
from  the  ground  to  the  roof  and  inclosed  with  blinds.  There 
is  no  glass,  there  are  no  chimneys  and  no  fires  except  for 
cooking.  In  the  kitchens  there  are  few  stoves  except  among 
foreigners.  The  natives  use  an  arrangement  of  masonry  like 
a  blacksmith's  forge  and  bum  charcoal  for  fuel.  The  inge- 
nuity and  skill  of  the  cooks  is  so  great  that  they  can  prepare  a 
dinner  of  six  or  seven  courses  for  twenty  people  over  one  of 
these  contrivances  without  the  slightest  trouble.  The  interi- 
ors of  the  houses  are  finished  in  pine,  cotton  drilling  is  used 
for  ceilings,  the  floors  are  tiles  or  polished  wood,  and  the  walls 
are  hung  with  cloth  or  paper.  The  outside  of  the  house  is 
plastered  with  cement  and  then  painted  in  artistic  designs  and 
fanciful  colors,  or  in  imitation  of  stone  or  marble.  The  fire 
was  a  great  blessing,  for  the  entire  area  that  was  devastated 
is  now  rebuilt  with  substantial  and  expensive  structures,  with 
modem  improvements,  which  add  greatly  to  the  appearance 
of  the  city,  as  well  as  to  the  comfort  of  the  people. 

Some  of  the  houses  of  the  wealthy  are  sumptuously  fur- 
nished, but  as  a  rule  they  contain  very  little  of  what  northern 
people  think  necessary.  Carpets,  upholstered  furniture  and 
hangings,  are  dispensed  with  as  much  as  possible,  for  they 
shut  out  the  air,  retain  the  heat,  and  furnish  shelter  for  fleas 
and  other  insects,  which  are  the  bane  of  existence.  The  floors 
are  polished  and  bare,  or  covered  with  Japanese  matting,  the 


66     BETWEEN   THE  ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

furniture  is  almost  entirely  cane  or  rattan,  the  beds  are  of 
iron  or  canvas  cots  without  springs. 

The  poor  live  in  unplastered  bamboo  huts,  thatched  with 
rushes,  and  floors  of  mud.  A  large  part  of  the  population 
live  on  the  water,  as  they  do  in  Canton,  China,  having 
houses  of  bamboo  built  upon  rafts,  called  '* balsas,"  similar  to 
those  the  Peruvians  used  when  Pizarro  came,  which  are  made 
by  lashing  together  logs  of  the  balsam  tree  or  hollow  trunks  of 
bamboo.  The  balsam  is  a  species  of  timber  nearly  as  buoyant 
as  cork.  A  log  forty  feet  long  and  fifteen  inches  in  diameter 
will  carry  two  tons.  Twenty  or  thirty  lashed  together  will 
therefore  sustain  a  large  cargo.  In  the  center  of  each  balsa 
is  a  hut  of  bamboo,  in  which  the  "marineros,"  as  the  owners 
are  called,  and  their  families  live  from  youth  to  age,  raise  pigs 
and  chickens  and  carry  their  entire  fortunes.  The  rafts  are 
propelled  by  sails  or  oars,  and  are  taken  from  place  to  place, 
according  as  business  is  offered.  It  is  said  that  from  the 
balsas  our  shipbuilders  got  the  idea  of  seaboards  for  yachts. 
The  balsam  logs  are  so  light  that  they  drift  easily,  and  in 
order  to  give  them  purchase  to  take  the  wind  the  natives 
shove  strips  of  bamboo  down  between  the  logs  three  or  four 
feet  into  the  water. 

Another  interesting  kind  of  craft  which  are  seen  not  only 
around  Guayaquil,  but  along  all  the  Peruvian  coast,  are  called 
**caballitos,"  or  "little  horses."  They  consist  of  bundles  of 
reeds  or  rushes  lashed  together  like  sheaves  of  wheat  and 
forming  a  float  or  raft  from  ten  to  twenty  feet  long  and  from 
four  to  six  feet  wide.  The  ends  taper  up  like  those  of  a  gon- 
dola. They  are  very  light  and  buoyant  and  convenient  for 
portage.  When  not  in  use  they  are  taken  out  of  the  water  and 
set  up  on  one  end  to  dry.  A  cabillito  will  carry  two  men  and 
several  packages  of  freight,  and  it  is  customary  to  lash  several 
of  them  together  to  carry  larger  cargoes.  They  are  very 
uncomfortable  to  ride  in,  however,  as  the  slightest  agitation 
of  the  water  affects  them  and  there  is  nothing  to  protect  the 
cargoes  or  passengers.  They  are  used  chiefly  for  fishing  and 
for  bringing  down  from  the  interior  to  market  vegetables, 
fruits  and  other  articles  which  are  not  injured  by  being  wet. 


THE   DECEPTIVE   CITY   OF  GUAYAQUIL        67 

Revolutions  have  been  frequent  in  Ecuador,  and  often 
destructive  of  life  and  property.  In  order  to  protect  them- 
selves foreign  residents  were  formerly  in  the  habit  of  placing 
above  the  entrances  to  their  houses,  or  in  some  other  conspicu- 
ous place  a  facsimile  of  the  flag  of  their  nation,  painted  on  tin 
or  wood,  with  the  legend  in  plain  letters,  **This  is  the  house 
of  an  American,"  or  "This  is  the  house  of  an  Englishman," 
or  a  German  or  a  Frenchman,  as  the  case  might  be.  But  you 
see  no  more  of  these  signs  in  the  new  part  of  Guayaquil,  which 
is  evidence  of  improvement  in  political  affairs. 

The  cathedral  is  an  imposing  structure,  when  viewed  at  a 
distance,  but  when  you  approach  it  closely  you  find  that  it  is 
built  entirely  of  bamboo  splints  lashed  together  with  wisps  of 
vegetable  fiber,  thinly  coated  with  clay,  molded  in  rococo 
designs  and  then  whitewashed  to  look  like  marble.  High 
mass  is  celebrated  at  6  o'clock  every  morning  with  a  large 
parade  of  priests,  with  splendid  vestments  and  fine  music,  but  it 
is  attended  only  by  the  feminine  portion  of  the  population.  Men 
are  seldom  seen  at  church,  except  on  feast  days  and  at  funerals. 

One  of  the  first  things  a  stranger  notices  is  the  number  of 
dark-eyed  women  with  their  heads  covered  and  their  faces  half 
concealed  with  black  *'mantas,"  that  he  meets  on  the  street 
early  in  the  morning,  either  coming  from  or  going  to  church. 
Low  mass  is  celebrated  in  all  the  churches  as  early  as  7  o'clock, 
and  the  women  attend  to  the  religion  for  the  entire  family. 
You  seldom  see  a  man  at  church,  except  at  a  funeral  or  a 
wedding  or  9n  a  feast  day.  There  are  no  pews  in  the  churches, 
and  it  is  common,  therefore,  to  see  a  maidservant  carrying  a 
camp  stool  or  a  little  rug  after  her  mistress,  upon  which  the 
latter  sits  or  kneels  during  the  service.  In  the  churches  at 
Quito  the  floors  are  marked  off  like  a  chess  board,  and  each 
square  is  numbered.  These  squares,  about  two  by  three  feet 
in  dimensions,  are  rented  to  rich  people,  and  are  occupied  by 
the  ladies  of  the  family  when  they  attend  mass,  so  that  at  the 
morning  service  you  will  see  little  groups  of  one  or  two  women 
scattered  over  the  floor,  while  the  poor  are  fringed  about  on 
either  side  against  the  walls. 

In  the  cemeteries  are  great  vaults  of  marble  divided  into 


68      BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

pigeon  holes  just  large  enough  to  receive  a  coffin.  These  are 
rented  or  purchased  from  the  association  or  church  to  which 
the  burial  ground  belongs,  and  when  a  body  is  placed  in  one 
of  them  the  opening  is  sealed  up  with  a  slab  of  marble,  upon 
which  an  epitaph  is  inscribed.  If  the  rent  is  not  paid  after  a 
certain  time,  the  coffin  is  removed  and  buried  in  the  back  part 
of  the  cemetery,  where  the  poor  lie  apart.  Some  families 
have  individual  vaults,  and  several  in  the  cemetery  at  Guaya- 
quil are  beautiful  works  of  marble. 

There  used  to  be  a  great  deal  more  show  of  religion  here 
in  former  days  than  now,  for  Guayaquil  is  getting  to  be  very 
*' liberal,"  which  means  that  there  is  a  growing  indifference 
to  religious  observances.  In  the  interior,  especially  at  Quito, 
one  sees  a  great  deal  of  ceremony,  and  almost  every  day  there 
are  religious  processions  in  the  streets. 

Some  years  ago,  in  Guayaquil,  I  saw  a  curious  spectacle, 
which  was  familiar  in  those  days.  The  priest  of  one  of  the 
churches  needed  money,  so  he  took  the  image  of  the  Virgin 
and  the  holy  sacrament  from  the  altar  and  carried  them  about 
the  city  under  a  canopy,  clad  in  his  sacerdotal  vestments. 
He  was  preceded  by  a  band  and  attended  by  a  number  of 
acolytes  carrying  lighted  candles  and  swinging  incense  urns, 
and  was  followed  by  fifty  or  sixty  men,  women  and  children, 
who  knelt  in  the  streets  in  a  reverential  manner  whenever  he 
stopped.  If  the  church  was  not  rich  enough  to  hire  a  band 
two  or  three  men  were  sent  ahead  ringing  bells  to  attract 
attention.  When  the  procession  stopped  in  front  of  a  store 
the  priests  would  enter  with  contribution  plates  and  solicit 
offerings  from  the  proprietors,  clerks  and  customers,  while 
the  people  kneeling  outside  prayed  that  their  hearts  might  be 
touched  with  liberality.  Where  money  was  obtained  a  bless- 
ing was  bestowed.  These  processions  are  now  prohibited  in 
Guayaquil. 

Passing  along  the  country  roads  in  the  interior  travelers 
see  rudely  painted  inscriptions  over  the  entrances  to  house:; 
like  this;  "La  patrona  de  esta  casa  es  Nuestra  Senora  de  la 
Merced"  (the  patron  of  this  house  is  Our  Mother  of  Mercies), 
or  "El  patron  de  esta  casa  es  San  Juan  de  Baptista. " 


THE   DECEPTIVE   CITY   OF   GUAYAQUIL        69 

Everybody  has  his  patron  saint,  to  whom  he  offers  prayers 
and  who  protects  him  from  evil.  Every  boy  or  girl  is  chris- 
tened after  the  saint  whose  anniversary  occurs  on  the  day  of 
the  child's  birth.  Sometimes  very  pious  people  give  their 
children  the  names  of  several  saints,  so  that  they  will  be  well 
looked  after.  A  boy  who  is  born  Christmas  week  is  usually 
named  after  the  Savior,  and  the  number  of  those  who  are 
called  Jesus  is  very  large.  But  the  children  never  heard  of 
Santa  Claus  and  never  sang  a  carol,  and  never  saw  a  Christ- 
mas tree,  for  Christmas  day  is  not  celebrated  in  Ecaudor  as  it 
is  with  us  and  in  northern  Europe.  The  only  difference  from 
ordinary  days  is  that  the  morning  mass  is  attended  with  a 
little  more  ceremony  than  usual.  New  Year's  day  and  Easter 
are  the  popular  festivals,  and  carnival  week  is  observed  as  in 
Rome,  only  more  rudely.  On  New  Year's  eve  it  is  cus- 
tomary to  have  family  gatherings,  to  which  intimate  friends 
are  invited,  to  watch  the  old  year  out  and  see  the  new  year  in, 
with  music  and  dancing,  and  when  the  cathedral  clock  strikes 
twelve  everybody  embraces  everybody  else,  with  affectionate 
words  of  congratulation  and  wishes  for  a  "Feliz  ano  nuevo. " 
Gifts  are  exchanged  among  members  of  the  family,  intimate 
friends  and  servants,  and  cards  are  sent  to  people  whose 
names  are  on  my  lady's  visiting  list.  The  carnival  lasts  three 
days,  the  lord  of  misrule  is  supreme  and  the  roughest  kind  of 
horseplay  is  indulged  in.  From  behind  the  jalousies  of  the 
best  houses  the  ladies  do  not  hesitate  to  throw  water  and  flour 
upon  passers-by,  whether  they  are  friends  or  strangers.  Rank 
and  distinction  are  disregarded,  and  unless  those  whose  busi- 
ness takes  them  out  of  doors  walk  in  the  middle  of  the  street 
they  are  apt  to  be  drenched. 

**Cascarones"  (wax  balls  filled  with  colored  water)  are 
thrown  into  people's  faces.  Syringes  are  carried  under  the 
coats  of  the  men  and  are  used  without  regard  to  results.  Egg- 
shells are  filled  with  flour  instead  of  confetti,  and  every  con- 
ceivable mixture,  including  paint,  mud  and  grease.  It  is 
considered  proper  to  knock  off  a  man's  hat  and  kick  it  into  the 
street ;  hence  people  wear  old  clothes  when  they  go  out  during 
the  carnival. 


70     BETWEEN   THE  ANDES  AND   THE  OCEAN 

The  saints  in  whose  honor  a  baby  is  christened,  like  god- 
fathers and  godmothers,  are  expected  to  look  after  his  tem- 
poral as  well  as  his  spiritual  welfare.  I  once  knew  a  man 
whose  name  was  Jesus  Maria  Joseph  Saint-John-the-Baptist 
Trinity  Velasco.  He  was  a  dwarf  in  stature  with  a  very  small 
body,  a  very  large  head,  and  a  face  that  Shakespeare  might 
have  described  for  Caliban.  He  made  charcoal  in  the  moun- 
tains and  owned  a  pack  of  donkeys  that  brought  the  product 
of  his  labor  to  market. 

He  and  his  sons — there  were  eight  of  them,  by  actual 
count,  and  three  or  four  girls  by  way  of  variety — lived  with 
his  wife  and  mother  in  a  little  adobe  dwelling  of  two  rooms, 
not  half  so  large  as  ordinary  bedrooms,  on  the  mountain  side, 
seven  thousand  feet  above  the  sea.  The  big  boys  cut  the 
cedar  and  pine  in  the  forests,  and  brought  the  sticks  on  their 
backs  to  the  furnaces  which  the  old  man  tended  with  much 
skill.  And  the  fires  were  never  extinguished ;  for  while  the 
father  slept  one  of  the  sons  looked  after  them. 

About  twice  a  week  the  donkeys  were  loaded  with  bags  of 
charcoal  and  driven  to  the  city  by  the  younger  children,  little 
urchins  from  eight  to  twelve  years  old.  They  had  to  start  at 
three  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  did  not  get  home  again  until 
midnight,  for  the  journey  was  long  and  the  donkey  is  not  a 
rapid  traveler.  Neither  father,  nor  mother,  nor  any  of  the 
children,  ever  saw  the  inside  of  a  schoolhouse,  and  would  not 
have  recognized  their  own  names  had  they  been  written  before 
their  eyes.  They  seldom  stopped  work  except  upon  a  feast 
day,  but  the  old  man  had  two  thousand  silver  pesos,  about 
$i,ooo  of  our  money — his  savings — hidden  somewhere  about 
the  place.     So  the  saints  were  good  to  him. 

If  anybody  supposes  that  the  inhabitants  of  Ecuador  are 
uncouth,  unmannerly  and  uneducated,  however,  it  is  a  great 
mistake.  There  is  a  wide  difference  between  the  peons,  the 
Indians,  and  what  are  known  as  the  upper  classes.  The  latter 
number  only  about  15  per  cent  of  the  entire  population,  and 
are  quite  up  to  our  standard  of  intelligence;  and  although 
education  is  not  so  universal  as  in  the  United  States  the  fam- 
ilies of  the  upper  class  are  as  cultivated  as  our  own.     They 


THE   DECEPTIVE   CITY  OF  GUAYAQUIL        71 

even  surpass  the  average  citizens  of  North  America  in  social 
•graces,  in  conversational  powers  and  linguistic  accomplish- 
ments. They  have  keener  perceptions  than  we;  they  are 
more  careful  of  their  manners,  more  observing  of  the  nicer 
proprieties,  usually  speak  fluently  one  or  two  languages 
beside  their  own,  and  have  a  cultivated  taste  for  music  and 
the  arts.  No  Spanish  lady  or  gentleman  is  ever  embarrassed; 
they  always  know  how  to  do  and  say  the  proper  thing,  and 
while  in  many  cases  their  sympathetic  interest  in  your  welfare 
may  be  only  skin  deep,  and  their  affectionate  phrases  insin- 
cere, they  are  nevertheless  the  most  hospitable  of  hosts  and 
the  most  charming  of  companions. 

In  commerce,  as  well  as  in  society,  this  deportment  is 
universal.  In  their  stores  and  oj0fices  they  are  as  polite  as  in 
their  parlors.  In  the  country  no  laborer  ever  passes  a  lady 
without  raising  his  hat.  Every  gentleman  is  respectfully 
saluted,  whether  he  is  a  stranger  or  an  acquaintance,  and  it  is 
pleasing  to  hear  a  market  woman  say,  "May  the  Virgin  pros- 
per you,"  or  "May  heaven  smile  upon  your  errand,"  or  "May 
your  patron  saint  protect  you  from  all  harm."  She  may  not 
care  a  straw  whether  you  ever  reach  the  end  of  your  journey, 
and  if  you  ask  her  how  far  it  is  to  the  next  place  she  will 
probably  tell  you  a  polite  falsehood  by  making  the  distance 
half  as  long  as  it  is;  but  she  recognizes  an  obligation  and 
practices  the  beautiful  custom  of  the  country  when  she  says, 
"God  be  with  you,"  as  if  she  intended  it  for  a  blessing. 

The  most  novel  and  amusing  spectacle  in  Guayaquil  is 
donkeys  wearing  pantalets.  This  is  not  due  to  motives  of 
modesty,  such  as  were  attributed  to  the  Boston  lady  who 
clothed  the  limbs  of  her  piano  in  a  similar  manner,  for  most 
of  the  children  go  naked  and  many  of  the  peon  women 
nearly  so.  The  pantalets,  made  of  cotton  cloth  and  suspended 
by  strips  of  tape  over  the  shoulders  and  haunches,  are  a 
humane  invention  to  protect  the  animals  from  the  vicious  flies 
which  attack  them. 

When  the  railway  to  Quito  is  built  Guayaquil  will  be  an 
important  market.  The  people  of  the  interior  consume  a 
small  amount  of  foreign  merchandise  at  present  because  there 


72     BETWEEN  THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

are  no  means  of  transportation.  Every  package  and  every 
passenger  that  goes  to  Quito  has  to  climb  over  the  Andes  on 
the  back  of  a  mule.  It  takes  a  traveler  from  six  to  nine  days 
to  make  the  journey  of  350  miles,  according  to  the  condition 
of  the  roads,  and  even  then  he  will  find  it  very  tiresome  and 
have  to  put  up  with  a  great  many  discomforts.  He  must  carry 
his  own  bedding  and  food,  for  there  are  no  hotels  on  the  way, 
and  the  only  shelter  is  the  meanest  kind  of  tambos,  or  adobe 
huts,  which  have  thatched  roofs,  mud  floors  and  not  only  filthy 
but  full  of  unspeakable  vermin. 

Reaching  the  town  of  Ambato  the  traveler  has  the  conven- 
ience of  a  stagecoach  the  rest  of  the  way,  over  a  very  rough 
road,  which  is  more  convenient  but  more  uncomfortable  than 
horseback  riding.  By  using  relays  of  horses  the  coaches  keep 
going  night  and  day  until  the  journey  ends,  and  a  passenger 
whose  flesh  and  muscles  have  not  been  hardened  to  such  expe- 
riences will  find  himself  a  mass  of  pulp  upon  his  arrival  at  the 
Ecuadorian  capital. 

What  little  freight  goes  up  and  down  the  mountains  is 
transported  by  caravans  of  mules  and  donkeys,  which  can 
carry  no  package  heavier  than  100  pounds.  The  mules  can 
carry  200  pounds,  but  the  load  must  be  divided  into  two  parts 
and  slung  over  the  saddle  on  either  side. 

There  is  very  little  in  the  interior  for  export.  All  the  cacao 
is  grown  on  the  lowlands  along  the  sea.  There  are  some 
coffee  plantations  on  the  foothills  of  the  mountains  and  a  few 
hides  and  a  little  com  come  out  of  the  great  basin,  the  latter 
being  used  for  fodder  at  Guayaquil  and  at  other  places  along 
the  coast.  The  only  articles  that  go  into  the  interior  are  such 
as  the  people  cannot  produce  for  themselves,  drugs  and  medi- 
cines, paper  and  stationery,  hardware,  cotton  and  woolen 
goods,  perfumery,  wines  and  liquors,  toys,  gloves,  etc.  Most 
of  the  clothing,  boots  and  shoes,  and  other  articles  for  personal 
wear  and  household  use,  are  made  in  the  country,  and  they 
are  of  the  rudest  sort.  The  people  are  poor  and  produce  only 
enough  to  supply  their  own  wants,  chiefly  because  there  is  not 
market  for  a  surplus.  When  the  railroad  is  built — and  the 
prospects  seem  favorable — an  enormous  area  of  agricultural 


THE   DECEPTIVE   CITY   OF   GUAYAQUIL        73 

and  pastoral  lands  will  be  opened  to  settlement  and  there  will 
be  some  inducement  for  the  farmers  to  extend  their  present 
plantations. 

The  foreign  commerce  of  Ecuador  is  limited  and  varies 
from  $15,000,000  to  $20,000,000  annually,  according  to  the 
volume  and  value  of  the  cacao  crop,  which  is  its  principal 
staple.  The  average  will  be  about  $16,000,000  for  the  last  ten 
years.  There  has  usually  been  a  balance  of  trade  against  the 
country,  which  has  been  settled  by  money  borrowed  abroad. 
A  considerable  part  of  the  foreign  trade  has  been  conducted 
on  the  credit  system.  Mercantile  houses  in  Guayaquil  have 
been  "carried"  by  their  creditors  in  Europe. 

It  is  difficult  to  state  with  any  accuracy  the  amount  of 
merchandise  imported  into  the  country,  because  the  statistics 
of  the  custom  house,  for  reasons  that  need  not  be  explained, 
have  been  inaccurate  and  incomplete.  The  imports,  however, 
have  averaged  $8,000,000  and  the  exports  $7,000,000  in  gold. 
The  principal  article  of  export  is  chocolate,  or  the  cacao 
bean  from  which  it  is  made,  and  at  least  one-third  of  the 
entire  crop  is  sent  to  France,  Belgium,  Holland,  Switzerland, 
Germany,  England,  the  United  States,  Italy,  Austria  and 
Turkey  receiving  the  balance  in  the  order  named.  Consider- 
able coffee  is  raised  in  the  interior,  which  is  absorbed  by  Chile 
and  Peru.  The  rubber  goes  to  the  United  States.  The  cin- 
chona goes  to  Great  Britain,  with  other  dye  woods  and  indigo. 
The  hides  and  goatskins  are  sent  to  the  United  States.  The 
tobacco  and  fruits  go  to  Chile.  Germany  takes  the  vegetable 
ivory  and  considerable  sarsaparilla.  One  of  the  most  impor- 
tant exports  is  straw  hats,  which  are  sent  north  and  south  to 
all  towns  along  the  west  coast,  to  Cuba  and  the  other  islands 
of  the  West  Indies.  The  province  of  Manabi  produces 
$800,000  worth  a  yean 

These  are  the  familiar  '*  Panama"  hats  which  were  never 
made  at  Panama,  but  acquired  the  name  because  that  city  has 
been  the  chief  market  for  their  sale  in  years  past.  Guayaquil 
now  has  that  honor. 

The  town  of  Atacames,  in  northern  Ecuador,  where  a  large 
part  of  these  hats  come  from,  was  the  first  place  at  which 


74     BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

Pizarro  and  his  army  landed  en  route  to  the  conquest  of  Peru. 
The  inhabitants  are  a  unique  race.  In  1623  a  vessel  loaded 
with  700  African  slaves  was  on  its  way  from  Panama  to  the 
mines  of  Peru,  when  the  negroes  mutinied,  murdered  their 
masters  and  the  officers  and  sailors  of  the  ship,  landed  at 
Atacames,  took  possession  of  the  town,  massacred  every  man 
in  the  neighborhood,  took  the  women  for  wives  and  became 
the  founders  of  an  intelligent,  industrious  and  enterprising 
community,  which  still  almost  exclusively  occupies  that 
province.  They  are  called  "zombargoes,"  and  are  a  mixture 
of  pure  African  and  Cayapa  Indians,  who  had  reached  a  high 
stage  of  civilization  before  the  invasion.  The  negroes  and 
their  descendants  have  minded  their  own  business  and  kept 
within  their  own  territory.  Rumors  of  their  fiendish  disposi- 
tion spread  up  and  down  the  coast,  and  doubtless  served  as  a 
protection,  because  the  Spaniards  and  the  natives  both  kept 
away  from  them,  and  they  were  not  molested,  but  engaged  in 
mining  and  agriculture.  Their  tobacco  is  particularly  good, 
equal  to  the  "vuelta  abajo"  of  Cuba,  and,  as  I  have  said,  the 
women  are  famous  as  hatmakers. 

Another  place  for  Panama  hats  of  the  finest  quality  is 
Jijipapa,  in  the  province  of  Manabi,  which  takes  its  name 
from  a  peculiar  grass,  of  which  the  softest  and  silkiest  hats 
are  made.  We  never  see  them  in  the  United  States.  The 
finest  ones  are  taken  by  planters  along  the  coast,  who  are 
willing  to  pay  $80  and  $100  for  hats  so  soft  and  pliable  that 
they  can  be  folded  up  and  carried  in  the  pocket.  The  finest 
hat  ever  made  was  sent  to  the  Prince  of  Wales  some  years 
ago,  and  it  was  so  light  and  delicate  that  it  could  be  folded 
into  a  package  no  larger  than  his  watch.  Some  of  these  fine 
hats  go  to  Paris ;  others  to  Italy  and  Spain.  It  takes  a  long 
time  and  great  skill  to  weave  a  fine  hat,  and  the  work  can  be 
done  only  by  moonlight.  The  fibers  must  not  be  exposed  to 
the  daylight,  which  would  dry  and  harden  them  and  destroy 
the  flexibility  so  essential  to  their  beauty.  Nor  must  they 
be  exposed  to  the  light  of  a  lamp  or  candle,  because  that 
would  endanger  them  from  the  insects  that  are  attracted  by 
light.     It  requires  the  dampness  of  atmosphere  that  comes 


THE   DECEPTIVE   CITY  OF  GUAYAQUIL        75 

after  sunset  to  soften  the  fibers.  The  coarser  hats,  such  as 
you  see  in  the  market,  are  woven  under  water,  the  hands  of 
the  women  who  weave  them,  as  well  as  the  material,  being 
immersed  in  tubs  and  buckets.  Bridles,  halters,  cigarette 
cases  and  other  articles  are  made  of  the  same  material. 

Great  Britain  and  France  share  about  equally  in  the 
imports  of  Ecuador.  Germany's  share  is  about  14  per  cent, 
which  is  increasing  more  rapidly  than  that  of  any  other 
nation,  at  the  expense  of  England  and  France.  The  United 
States  has  about  10  per  cent  of  the  import  trade.  Great  Brit- 
ain furnishes  cotton  goods  and  other  clothing,  hardware, 
machinery,  tools,  cutlery,  crockery,  drugs  and  other  manufac- 
tured articles.  France  furnishes  silks  and  other  fine  classes 
of  fabrics,  hats  and  caps,  millinery,  gloves,  hosiery,  under- 
clothing, boots  and  shoes,  perfumery,  stationery,  jewelry,  toys, 
fancy  articles,  furniture,  wines  and  liquors  and  similar  mer- 
chandise. Germany  sends  articles  similar  to  those  imported 
from  England. 

The  exports  from  the  United  States  to  Ecuador  in  1888 
amounted  to  $813,535.  In  1898  they  amounted  to  $855,193, 
so,  as  will  be  noticed,  there  was  very  little  change  during  the 
ten  years,  although  in  1896  the  total  dropped  below  $690,000, 
and  in  189 1  it  exceeded  $900,000. 

Our  imports  from  Ecuador  have  stood  about  the  same  way. 
In  1889  they  amounted  to  $695,205.  In  1898  they  were 
$765)590-  III  1893  they  ran  as  high  as  $960,228.  In  1897 
they  fell  as  low  as  $566,526.  The  imports  consist  chiefly  of 
hides  and  skins,  rubber  and  cacao. 

The  detailed  statistics  of  our  exports  to  Ecuador  show  an 
almost  infinite  variety,  the  largest  items  being  as  follows : 

Breadstuffs $122,250 

Lard 142,077 

Timber  and  lumber „  113,648 

Iron  and  steel 51,696 

Tools 30,911 

Oil  petroleum 30,840 

Cotton  goods 53,253 

Drugs  and  medicines o  32,250 

Cordage 15.964 


76     BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

Preserved  fish 6,210 

Furniture 6,443 

Agricultural  implements 744 

Railway  and  street  cars 11,650 

Bicycles 2,112 

Jewelry 7,310 

Sewing  machines 21,005 

Paper 13,484 

Electrical  apparatus 16,927 

Builders'  Hardware 16,691 

Machinery 33,868 

Typewriters i,434 

Locomotives 2,000 

India  Rubber  goods 3,842 

Printing  presses 1,817 

Matches 3,389 

Perfumery 9.329 

Bacon  and  hams 6, 193 

Butter 3,581 

Soap 1,586 

Whisky 787 

Beer 1,586 

Wines 5,346 

In  addition  to  the  items  above  given  I  find  in  the  list 
small  invoices  of  dental  supplies,  glassware,  babbitt  metal, 
stove  polish,  paint,  plated  ware,  photographic  materials,  soap, 
confectionery,  toys,  clocks,  trunks,  gunpowder,  boots  and 
shoes,  firearms,  safes,  saws,  scales,  stoves  and  similar  articles. 

There  ought  to  be  a  much  larger  trade,  particularly  with 
California,  in  lumber,  flour,  wines,  dried  and  canned  fruits 
and  similar  articles,  and  there  will  be  a  fine  opportunity  for 
its  increase  as  the  British  and  Chilean  Steamship  Companies, 
which  now  send  their  vessels  every  two  weeks  to  Guatemala, 
expect  to  extend  the  service  so  far  as  San  Francisco  as  soon 
as  several  new  vessels,  which  are  now  in  the  stocks  in  the 
British  shipyards,  are  ready  for  use.  Before  that  date,  how- 
ever, the  California  people  should  send  drummers  down  there 
to  make  the  acquaintance  of  the  merchants  and  introduce  their 
goods. 

You  seldom  see  a  commercial  traveler  from  the  United 
States  in  these  countries.     Nearly  all  the  merchandise  bought 


THE   DECEPTIVE   CITY   OF   GUAYAQUIL         77 

in  the  United  States  is  ordered  through  the  commission  houses 
to  which  the  hides  and  cacao  are  sold  and  the  latter  articles 
are  paid  for  in  that  way  instead  of  in  cash.  For  that  reason 
our  exports  and  imports  run  about  even  every  year.  But  if 
we  would  increase  the  trade  we  have  got  to  go  at  it  as  the 
Germans  are  doing;  we  have  got  to  cultivate  the  people  and 
show  them  that  it  is  for  their  advantage  to  buy  of  us  instead 
of  elsewhere.  The  Chileans  have  already  eaten  into  the  Cali- 
fornia market  for  lumber  and  flour,  and  are  sending  up  a 
great  deal  of  wine.  Formerly  we  had  a  monopoly  of  the  flour 
trade  on  this  coast.     Now  we  have  only  a  small  fraction  of  it. 

We  are  always  talking  about  building  up  commerce  with 
Central  and  South  America  and  "promoting  more  friendly 
relations,"  but  all  recent  legislation  has  been  to  prevent  the 
very  thing  our  merchants  and  manufacturers  most  desire. 
During  the  Harrison  administration  we  negotiated  reciprocity 
treaties  with  nearly  all  the  other  American  republics  and 
colonies,  in  which  they  gave  us  and  we  gave  them  valuable 
concessions,  and  the  effect  was  only  just  beginning  to  be  felt 
when  a  change  of  administration  took  place  and  the  demo- 
cratic majority  in  congress  revoked  these  treaties  by  a  clause 
in  the  tariflE  act  of  1894. 

We  slapped  our  friends  in  the  face  and  told  them  that  we 
did  not  want  their  trade.  We  did  not  observe  the  ordinary 
formalities  used  in  diplomatic  negotiation.  We  gave  them  no 
notice,  offered  no  explanation,  made  no  apology,  but  simply 
revoked  the  treaties  peremptorily,  without  considering  their 
interests  or  feelings  for  a  moment.  Then,  three  years  later, 
came  the  Dingley  tariff  law,  which  contains  a  bogus  reciproc- 
ity clause,  intended  to  humbug  the  people  of  both  continents. 

I  receive  many  inquiries  from  young  men  who  want  to  go 
to  South  America  to  engage  in  business,  and  ask  where  they 
will  find  the  largest  chances  of  success.  There  is  no  use  in 
any  man  going  to  a  strange  country  to  better  his  condition 
unless  he  can  speak  the  language  of  that  country,  which,  in 
the  case  of  all  the  other  American  republics,  is  Spanish.  A 
young  man  who  should  go  to  Venezuela  or  Ecuador  or  the 
Argentine  Republic  in  search  of  employment  without  being 


78     BETWEEN  THE   ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

able  to  speak  the  Spanish  language  would  be  as  helpless  as  a 
Spaniard  who  came  to  the  United  States  without  being  able  to 
speak  the  English  language,  and  even  if  he  had  capital  and 
desired  to  make  investments  on  his  own  account  he  would  be 
entirely  at  the  mercy  of  his  interpreters. 

The  ignorance  of  our  merchants  and  commercial  travelers 
on  this  point  is  one  of  the  greatest  obstacles  to  an  increase  of 
trade.  In  order  successfully  to  compete  with  salesmen  from 
Europe  it  is  necessary  for  our  drummers  to  meet  the  cus- 
tomers they  are  seeking  in  social  as  well  as  in  business  circles ; 
to  entertain  and  be  entertained,  and  to  make  themselves  as 
agreeable  as  possible.  What  sane  manufacturer  or  wholesale 
merchant  would  send  out  a  drummer  in  this  country  that 
could  not  speak  English?  Who  would  send  a  drummer  to 
France  who  could  not  speak  French  and  expect  him  to  sell 
goods  there?  What  European  would  send  to  this  country  an 
agent  that  could  not  talk  our  language?  Such  a  thing  would 
be  considered  a  waste  of  time  and  effort;  yet  you  seldom  find 
an  American  commercial  traveler  in  South  America  who  can 
speak  Spanish.  I  met  a  dozen  or  more  representing  various 
manufacturing  and  commercial  interests,  and  all  but  one  were 
entirely  dependent  upon  interpreters  to  translate  their  conver- 
sation. If  they  had  not  been  so  keen-witted  they  would  not 
have  accomplished  anything,  but  they  could  have  sold  a  hun- 
dred times  as  many  goods  if  they  could  have  talked  to  their 
customers  directly. 

Now  that  we  have  added  so  much  Spanish  territory  and  so 
many  Spanish-speaking  people  to  our  national  domain,  we 
ought  to  teach  our  children  to  converse  with  them  in  their 
language,  as  well  as  their  children  to  converse  with  us  in  our 
language.  English  may  be  at  some  time  the  universal  lan- 
gfuage,  but  not  until  every  man  who  is  now  speaking  it  is  dead 
and  gone.  Spanish  is  the  easiest  of  all  languages  to  learn, 
particularly  to  those  who  have  a  knowledge  of  Latin,  and  by 
steady  application  a  young  man  ought  to  be  able  to  hold  an 
ordinary  conversation  in  six  months. 

German  commercial  travelers  are  able  to  sell  more  goods 
in  South  America  than  those  of  any  other  country  because 


THE   DECEPTIVE   CITY   OF   GUAYAQUIL        79 

they  have  a  larger  stock  of  patience  and  understand  the  char- 
acter of  the  people  with  whom  they  have  to  deal.  When  an 
English  or  an  American  drummer  reaches  a  town  he  goes 
around  among  the  retail  dealers,  greets  them  cordially,  pays  a 
few  compliments,  inquires  after  their  families  and  mutual 
friends  and  discusses  other  subjects  of  similar  interest  for  a 
few  moments.  Then  he  asks  if  they  want  any  goods  in  his 
line,  and  unless  they  happen  to  be  out  of  some  staple  for  which 
there  is  an  active  demand  they  reply  in  the  negative.  He 
offers  to  show  his  samples  and  invites  them  to  call  upon  him 
at  the  hotel  or  the  club  where  he  makes  his  headquarters. 
Then  he  goes  on  to  the  next  shop,  where  the  scene  is  repeated, 
and  he  may  take  several  limited  orders. 

When  a  German  drummer  comes  to  town  he  wanders  into 
a  retail  establishment  in  an  indifferent  manner,  pokes  over  the 
goods,  inquires  where  they  got  this  and  what  they  paid  for 
that,  and  if  there  are  no  customers  to  be  served,  he  offers  the 
merchant  a  cigar  and  sits  down  for  a  sociable  chat,  which 
usually  ends  with  an  invitation  to  lunch  or  dine  at  the  club, 
where  he  arranges  an  attractive  spread  and  provides  a  copious 
supply  of  good  wines,  which  is  returned  by  an  invitation  to 
dine  at  the  merchant's  house.  Not  a  word  is  said  about  busi- 
ness at  either  place.  It  is  merely  a  friendly  exchange  of 
hospitality,  which  a  perfect  knowledge  of  the  Spanish  lan- 
guage enables  the  German  drummer  to  make  the  most  of. 
Not  only  one  merchant,  but  all  the  tradesmen  whose  business 
is  profitable,  are  cultivated  in  this  way,  and  they  meet  the 
diplomatic  drummer  in  the  presence  of  each  other  at  the  club- 
rooms  and  residences  of  each  other  without  the  slightest 
restraint. 

Sooner  or  later  the  curiosity  of  the  merchant  impels  him 
to  ask  the  drummer's  business,  and  is  told  that  he  is  selling  a 
certain  line  of  goods  which  are  probably  of  no  particular  inter- 
est to  him.  This  stimulates  curiosity  without  satisfying  it, 
and  by  his  own  volition,  without  any  urging  or  even  invitation 
from  the  drummer,  within  a  few  days  he  is  examining  the 
samples  and  giving  large  orders  for  goods.  Meantime  the 
drummer  maintains  an  outward  indifference,  but  puts  the 


8o     BETWEEN   THE  ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

merchant  under  obligations  to  him  by  social  attentions  and 
appropriate  presents  to  the  members  of  his  family.  They  are 
friends  and  cronies  rather  than  salesman  and  customers,  and 
when  the  drummer  leaves  town  every  merchant  of  importance 
will  accompany  him  to  the  steamer  and  toast  his  health  and 
happiness  and  his  early  return  with  a  bottle  of  champagne. 

In  several  long  journeys  in  South  America  I  have  always 
noticed  that  when  a  German  commercial  traveler  comes 
aboard  a  departing  steamer  he  is  invariably  accompanied  by 
a  group  of  friends,  but  English  and  American  drummers 
never  have  any  one  to  see  them  off  except  their  fellow  coun- 
trymen. 


VI 

THE  PRESIDENT  AND  GOVERNMENT  OP  ECUADOR 

Elroy  Afaro  is  the  first  **liberar'  president  Ecuador  ever 
had.  No  country  has  been  so  devoted  to  the  catholic  church 
or  has  been  so  thoroughly  under  the  control  of  the  priesthood. 
No  government,  not  even  Spain,  has  been  so  loyal  to  the  holy 
father.  The  educated  portion  of  the  population  outside  of 
Guayaquil  has  been  ultramontane  to  the  extreme  and  sus- 
tained the  president  and  re-elected  the  congress  which  declared 
in  the  constitution  that  the  nation  existed  **for  the  glory  of 
God  and  the  holy  catholic  church. '  *  Bills  introduced  in  con- 
gress begin  with  the  phrase:  "In  the  name  of  God,  the 
author  and  legislator  of  the  earth.  * '  The  constitution  declares 
that  **the  religion  of  the  country  is  the  Roman  catholic  apos- 
tolic. The  political  powers  are  bound  to  respect  it  and  cause 
it  to  be  respected,  to  protect  its  liberties  and  enforce  its 
rights." 

When  a  president  is  inaugurated  he  takes  an  oath  on  the 
four  gospels  to  faithfully  preserve  and  protect  the  church  and 
to  promote  its  interests.  The  papal  nuncio,  the  personal  rep- 
resentative of  the  pope  at  Quito,  has  always  been  the  most 
influential  personage  in  the  republic.  The  archbishop  has  sat 
in  the  cabinet.  A  crucifix  has  stood  upon  the  desks  of  the 
president  of  the  senate  and  the  speaker  of  the  house  of  repre- 
sentatives, and  before  a  member  of  either  body  engages  in 
debate  he  is  expected  to  make  the  sign  of  the  cross  in  recog- 
nition of  its  presence  and  then  address  the  presiding  officer. 
For  many  years  congress  has  appropriated  $25,000  annually 
as  a  gift  to  the  pope,  and  no  matter  what  was  the  condition  of 
the  treasury  it  has  always  been  promptly  paid.  During  the 
war  between  the  temporal  and  the  spiritual  powers  of  Italy 
congress  passed  a  resolution  and  sent  an  ambassador  to  invite 

81 


82     BETWEEN   THE  ANDES  AND   THE  OCEAN 

the  pope  to  make  his  permanent  home  in  Ecuador,  just  as  the 
loyal  people  of  Barbados  offered  the  hospitality  of  that  little 
island  to  George  III.,  if  Napoleon  drove  him  out  of  England. 

Garcia  Moreno,  who  was  president  or  dictator  from  1861 
till  he  was  assassinated  in  1875,  placed  the  bleeding  heart  of 
Jesus  as  a  coat  of  arms  upon  the  banner  of  Ecuador,  as  Mexico 
has  a  cactus  and  an  eagle,  as  China  a  dragon  and  Japan  a  sun. 
He  called  his  bodyguard  "The  Holy  Lancers  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin"  and  formed  his  army  into  "The  Division  of  the 
Mother  of  God,"  "The  Division  of  the  Son  of  God,"  "The 
Division  of  the  Holy  Ghost"  and  "The  Division  of  the  Body 
and  the  Blood  of  Christ. " 

He  suppressed  all  secular  newspapers  and  periodicals  out- 
side the  city  of  Guayaquil.  He  forbade  the  importation  of 
secular  books  and  made  Jesuit  priests  inspectors  in  the  custom 
house.  He  placed  all  schools,  universities,  libraries,  museums, 
hospitals,  asylums  and  other  public  institutions  under  the  con- 
trol of  the  church  and  imported  from  Spain  and  Italy  a  large 
number  of  monks  to  act  as  teachers  and  managers. 

This  was  acceptable  to  the  people  of  the  interior,  but  was 
exceedingly  unpopular  in  Guayaquil  and  other  cities  on  the 
coast,  which  pay  most  of  the  taxes,  and  where  the  people 
travel  abroad  and  come  in  contact  with  strangers  from  other 
countries.  They  had  an  opportunity  to  compare  the  condi- 
tions of  Ecuador  with  those  existing  in  foreign  lands,  and, 
claiming  that  progress  could  not  be  made  as  rapidly  as  long  as 
priests  and  monks  controlled  affairs,  began  to  grow  restless. 
The  newspapers  took  up  the  discussion,  and  it  was  a  common 
topic  of  debate  in  the  clubs  and  market  places.  The  suc- 
cessors of  Moreno  continued  his  policy,  and  finally  a  pretext 
for  a  remonstrance  occurred  in  the  city  of  Guayaquil  when  the 
catholic  bishop  excommunicated  from  the  church  three  judges 
of  the  Supreme  Court  who  rendered  a  decision  contrary  to  his 
ideas. 

A  public  meeting  of  merchants,  lawyers  and  all  the  leading 
citizens  was  called  to  protest  and  marched  in  a  body  to  the 
bishop's  residence.  The  latter,  who  was  protected  by  a  mili- 
tary guard,  claimed  to  believe  that  this  assemblage  of  business 


PRESIDENT   AND  GOVERNMENT  OF   ECUADOR    83 

men  was  a  mob  that  meant  violence  and  ordered  the  soldiers 
to  fire.  Several  of  the  foremost  citizens  of  Guayaquil  fell  on 
the  plaza. 

Their  bodies  were  taken  home  amid  intense  excitement, 
the  guard  at  the  bishop's  palace  was  strengthened,  the  street 
was  filled  with  soldiers  and  the  city  was  placed  under  martial 
law.  Instead  of  expressing  regret  at  his  mistake,  the  bishop 
cursed  the  souls  of  the  dead,  forbade  the  churches  to  be  used 
for  their  funerals  and  prohibited  their  burial  in  consecrated 
ground.  Notwithstanding  this  edict,  on  the  day  appointed, 
the  bodies  of  the  dead  were  carried  to  the  plaza,  the  doors  of 
the  cathedral,  which  had  been  barred,  were  broken  down,  and 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Calderon,  a  priest  of  brilliant  attainments  and 
liberal  views,  volunteered  to  celebrate  a  requiem  mass,  which 
was  followed  by  speeches  from  several  prominent  citizens 
protesting  against  the  despotism  of  the  governor  and  demand- 
ing that  the  bishop  should  be  indicted  and  tried  for  murder. 
A  procession  was  then  formed,  which  included  90  per  cent 
of  the  population  of  the  city,  the  coffins  of  the  dead  were 
carried  on  their  shoulders  to  the  cemetery,  which,  having  been 
locked,  was  violently  entered,  and  the  usual  catholic  service 
was  read  over  the  graves  by  Dr.  Calderon. 

Fearing  the  indignation  of  the  public,  President  Camaano 
hurried  the  bishop  on  board  a  little  gunboat  and  carried  him 
to  a  place  of  safety,  and  it  was  well  that  he  did,  for  upon  their 
return  from  the  cemetery  the  people  broke  into  the  prelate's 
palace,  destroyed  his  furniture  and  would  have  hung  him. 
On  the  following  day  the  newspapers  of  Guayaquil,  without 
exception,  demanded  the  prosecution  of  the  bishop  to  vindi- 
cate the  honor  of  Catholicism,  and  declared  that  there  could  be 
no  peace  in  the  country  unless  he  was  punished.  A  petition 
was  sent  to  the  archbishop  at  Quito,  who  banished  the  offender 
to  a  retreat  in  the  mountains  and  placed  in  charge  of  the 
diocese  of  Guayaquil  a  wise  and  prudent  man,  who  succeeded 
in  suppressing  the  excitement  and  prevented  a  revolution. 
But  the  incident  caused  the  formation  of  a  liberal  party,  which 
was  organized  for  the  express  purpose  of  resisting  the  power 
of  the  priesthood  and  separating  the  church  from  the  state. 


84     BETWEEN   THE  ANDES  AND   THE  OCEAN 

President  Flores,  who  was  a  wise  and  able  man,  was  shortly 
afterward  elected  to  office  and  used  his  best  endeavors  to  con- 
ciliate the  liberal  element,  which  hitherto  had  taken  little  part 
in  politics. 

Up  to  that  time  one-tenth  of  the  gross  products  of  the 
country  was  paid  to  the  church  in  kind,  according  to  the 
Mosaic  law.  Every  peasant  took  to  the  priest  of  his  parish 
one-tenth  of  all  the  beans  and  corn  he  raised,  and  the  big 
haciendados  or  planters  gave  the  financial  representative  of 
the  bishop  one  quintal  of  cocoa  for  every  nine  they  sent  to 
market.  President  Flores  had  this  law  repealed  and  substi- 
tuted for  it  a  tax  of  three-tenths  of  one  per  cent  upon  the 
appraised  valuation  of  all  real  and  personal  property  in  the 
republic  for  the  benefit  of  the  church.  He  intended  to  concil- 
iate public  sentiment,  but  produced  the  contrary  result,  and 
the  hostility  of  the  priesthood  became  more  and  more  pro- 
nounced. The  peasants  were  relieved  of  the  tithes,  but  the 
entire  burden  fell  upon  the  landowners  and  business  men,  who 
refused  to  be  taxed  to  support  priests.  The  plea  that  the 
proceeds  were  devoted  to  sustaining  schools,  hospitals  and 
asylums,  which  was  largely  true,  was  not  accepted.  The 
people  refused  to  pay  the  tax ;  the  liberal  party  grew  rapidly 
in  numbers  and  strength.  The  newspapers  of  Guayaquil, 
which  were  the  only  ones  published  in  Ecuador,  openly 
attacked  the  government  for  the  first  time.  Professional  men 
and  merchants  and  other  people  of  property  and  education 
renewed  their  activity  in  politics  to  awaken  public  sentiment 
in  favor  of  a  change  of  policy. 

In  the  meantime  a  man  named  Elroy  Alfaro,  who  was 
expelled  for  conspiracy  against  the  government,  had  been 
appearing  and  reappearing  in  different  parts  of  the  country  at 
the  head  of  unsuccessful  revolutionary  movements.  For 
several  months  he  controlled  the  provinces  along  the  sea 
coast,  but  had  been  driven  out  again  and  again  and  had  taken 
refuge  in  Panama  or  Peru  to  renew  his  efforts  as  often  as  he 
could  secure  men  and  money.  It  was  believed  that  Alfaro 
was  receiving  assistance  from  business  men  in  Guayaquil, 
although  he  had  no  open  support  there.     President  Camaano, 


PRESIDENT   AND   GOVERNMENT   OF   ECUADOR    85 

who  had  been  the  most  successful  in  preserving  order  since 
the  assassination  of  Gen.  Moreno,  was  re-elected. 

With  a  firm  hand  he  suppressed  the  discontent  that  was 
growing  throughout  the  country  and  restored  order,  until  he 
was  himself  compelled  to  fly  to  escape  public  indignation  that 
was  aroused  by  a  little  incident  of  an  unusual  character.  He 
acted  as  a  go-between  in  the  sale  by  Chile  of  the  cruiser 
Esmarelda  to  the  government  of  Japan  during  its  war  with 
China  in  1895.  General  Camaano  received  a  liberal  commis- 
sion, variously  reported  from  $50,000  to  $250,000,  but  put  the 
money  in  his  own  pocket,  and  when  the  people  of  Ecuador 
learned  the  facts  they  rose  in  fury  and  he  had  to  flee.  He 
went  to  Spain  and  has  since  been  living  in  Barcelona.  Ex- 
President  Flores,  his  brother-in-law,  and  others  of  his  friends 
were  also  sent  into  exile,  and,  taking  advantage  of  the  con- 
fusion and  excitement,  Elroy  Alfaro,  who  had  been  hovering 
around  like  a  stormy  petrel,  seized  the  government  and  pro- 
claimed himself  dictator. 

The  following  year  he  held  an  election  and  was  declared 
"constitutional  president."  Alfaro  at  once  proclaimed  a 
liberal  policy  and  a  dissolution  of  the  relations  between  the 
church  and  state,  which  culminated  in  October,  1898,  by  the 
passage  of  a  law  abolishing  the  tax  for  the  support  of  the 
church,  forbidding  interference  in  political  affairs  by  priests 
and  bishops,  depriving  the  archbishop  of  his  seat  in  the  cabi- 
net and  cutting  off  all  the  perquisites  from  the  government 
that  had  been  enjoyed  by  the  clergy.  The  constitution  was 
not  amended,  nor  was  religion  made  free  by  law,  but  by 
practice,  and  in  1896,  for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of 
Ecuador,  protestant  missionaries  were  admitted  to  the  country 
and  permitted  to  hold  public  worship  and  establish  schools. 

These  missionaries  have  met  with  difficulties  and  interfer- 
ence from  the  priests  and  the  people,  but  have  been  tolerated 
if  not  encouraged  by  the  government.  They  have  been  given 
to  understand  that  they  will  be  permitted  to  establish  schools 
and  churches  and  conduct  religious  services  wherever  they 
choose  to  do  so  without  interfering  with  official  affairs  or  the 
rights  of  others,  and  it  is  expected  at  the  next  meeting  of 


86     BETWEEN   THE   ANDES  AND   THE  OCEAN 

congress  a  law  will  be  passed  granting  freedom  of  worship  in 
Ecuador  to  all  religious  denominations. 

The  marriage  law,  however,  has  not  yet  been  amended. 
No  protestant  clergyman  is  allowed  to  perform  the  ceremony, 
and  under  the  existing  statutes  no  marriage  is  lawful  unless 
sanctioned  by  a  catholic  priest.  Children  born  after  protestant 
marriages  are  considered  illegitimate,  and  cannot  inherit  prop- 
erty, but  it  is  expected  that  this  will  all  be  changed  if  Alfaro 
remains  in  power  and  the  civil  right  of  marriage  established. 

Alfaro  claims  to  be  a  good  catholic,  but  holds  that  the 
church  should  attend  exclusively  to  the  spiritual  welfare  of 
the  people,  as  in  the  United  States,  and  let  politics  alone. 

It  was  not  to  be  expected  that  the  priests  would  allow  them- 
selves to  be  deprived  of  the  power  and  perquisites  which  they 
had  enjoyed  so  long  without  a  protest  or  resistance,  and  they 
have  attempted  several  revolutions,  which  were  feeble  and 
unsuccessful.  Alfaro  was  very  lenient  with  them  in  compar- 
ison with  the  previous  customs  of  the  country,  and  endeavored 
to  pursue  a  conciliatory  policy  to  reconcile  the  clergy  to  the 
new  order  of  things.  He  expelled  the  bishop  of  Guayaquil 
and  Bishop  Shoemaker,  of  Manabi,  a  German  Jesuit,  who 
organized  a  revolution,  and  a  large  number  of  priests  who 
were  detected  in  conspiracy,  but  his  orders  of  banishment 
have  been  directed  at  individuals  rather  than  orders,  and  only 
against  priests  and  monks  of  foreign  birth,  and  no  one  has 
been  tortured  or  shot  for  treason,  which  is  an  unusual  record 
for  this  country.  The  liberal  element  think  he  is  too  lenient, 
for  the  people  are  not  accustomed  to  such  mercy  and  may 
mistake  it  for  cowardice.  A  large  number  of  priests  and 
monks  have  left  the  country,  however,  both  from  fear  and 
from  lack  of  support.  Some  have  gone  to  Colombia  and  Peru, 
wherd  they  are  welcome  and  await  with  hope  an  opportunity 
to  return  to  Ecuador.  Some  have  gone  to  the  United  States — 
there  is  a  large  colony  of  exiles  in  Brooklyn  and  another  in 
Baltimore — and  more  have  gone  to  Europe.  They  are  mostly 
monks  of  the  various  orders.  It  is  said,  however,  that  many 
priests  have  remained  and  are  collecting  what  they  can  from 
their  parishes.     Their  former  stipends  are  entirely  cut  off. 


PRESIDENT  AND   GOVERNMENT  OF   ECUADOR    87 

They  now  have  to  depend  upon  voluntary  contributions,  and 
the  people  outside  of  Guayaquil  are  very  poor.  The  church 
owned  an  enormous  amount  of  property,  consisting  of  both 
city  real  estate  and  productive  plantations.  The  latter  belonged 
chiefly  to  the  monastic  orders,  and  were  worked  under  the 
direction  of  the  monks,  who  retained  the  proceeds  for  the 
benefit  of  their  own  brotherhoods.  The  income  of  the  church 
proper  is  insufficient  to  support  the  large  priesthood.  There 
is  a  catholic  church  for  every  150  inhabitants,  and  a  few  years 
ago  10  per  cent  of  the  entire  population  was  either  priests, 
monks  or  nuns. 

When  President  Alfaro  cut  off  the  subsidy  which  the  gov- 
ernment of  Ecuador  had  been  giving  to  the  church  the  priests 
closed  the  schools  and  left  the  entire  country  without  any 
means  of  education  except  a  few  private  institutions.  Until 
then  the  entire  educational  system  of  Ecuador  was  under  con- 
trol of  the  priests,  and  the  parochial  schools  offered  a  meager 
opportunity  for  the  children  in  the  cities  and  villages  to  obtain 
the  rudiments  of  learning.  They  were  taught  to  read  and 
write  and  the  simple  rules  of  arithmetic,  but  gave  more  time 
to  the  study  of  the  catechism  and  the  lives  of  the  saints  than 
to  secular  text-books.  The  attendance  was  comparatively 
limited ;  not  one  child  out  of  ten  in  the  towns  and  villages 
attended  even  the  parish  schools,  and  those  in  the  rural  dis- 
tricts had  no  facilities  whatever.  Therefore  about  75  per  cent 
of  the  population  of  Ecuador  is  absolutely  illiterate. 

The  priests  explained  to  the  people  that  suspension  of  the 
schools  was  due  to  the  parsimony  and  the  indifference  of 
the  new  president  and  the  liberal  party.  In  consequence  a 
violent  hostility  was  aroused  against  the  liberal  government, 
which  was  not  prepared  to  supply  a  school  system  upon  such 
short  notice.  A  few  months  later,  however,  Alfaro  retaliated 
by  securing  the  passage  of  an  act  by  congress  confiscating  to 
the  state  all  church  property  and  placing  the  mines,  the  cocoa 
and  sugar  plantations  and  much  valuable  real  estate  in  the 
cities  under  the  management  of  a  board  of  trustees  appointed 
by  him,  the  proceeds  to  be  applied  to  the  support  of  free 
schools.     This  act  excited  the  greatest  degree  of  indignation 


88     BETWEEN  THE   ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

among  the    sympathizers    of    the    church,    and    the    clergy- 
attempted  to  incite  another  revolution. 

The  Franciscan,  Dominican,  Capuchins  and  other  monastic 
orders  owned  nearly  one-third  of  the  entire  productive  prop- 
erty of  the  republic,  and  hence  were  the  principal  sufferers. 
While  the  law  was  pending  they  made  haste  to  convey  the 
titles  of  much  of  their  property  to  local  laymen  for  fictitious 
considerations,  but  the  government  has  refused  to  recognize 
the  validity  of  these  transfers. 

If  the  estates  confiscated  from  the  church  could  be  managed 
honestly  for  the  benefit  of  the  schools,  the  children  of  Ecuador 
would  have  a  heritage  as  rich  as  those  enjoyed  by  the  present 
generation  in  Kansas,  Colorado  and  other  of  our  western 
states  and  territories,  where  a  wise  congress  dedicated  a  large 
portion  of  the  public  domain  to  the  aid  of  learning. 

In  the  summer  of  1899  President  Alfaro  entered  into  aeon- 
tract  with  the  Rev.  Dr.  Wood,  who  was  in  charge  of  the 
methodist  missions  in  Peru,  to  organize  a  school  system  for 
Ecuador,  and  the  work  is  now  in  progress  under  the  direction 
of  protestant  teachers. 

President  Elroy  Alfaro  was  bom  of  mixed  Indian  and  Span- 
ish ancestry  in  the  town  of  Monte  Christi,  in  the  province  of 
Manabi,  in  the  year  1833,  so  that  he  is  now  sixty-seven  years 
old.  That  province  has  been  distinguished  for  producing  an 
independent  and  combative  race  of  men  who  have  given  the 
government  a  great  deal  of  trouble.  Law  and  order  have  not 
always  prevailed  there ;  quarrels  are  usually  settled  by  force, 
and  people  who  have  suffered  injury  are  accustomed  to  apply 
the  remedy  with  their  own  hands  instead  of  appealing  to  the 
courts.  Nearly  all  of  the  professional  revolutionists  in  Ecua- 
dor have  come  from  that  section,  and  Alfaro  has  not  lacked 
the  provincial  traits.  After  having  served  ten  years  in  the 
army,  he  began  his  career  as  a  revolutionist  as  long  ago  as 
1865,  when  he  organized  a  movement  for  the  overthrow  of 
General  Garcia-Moreno,  the  ablest  and  most  despotic  dictator 
Ecuador  has  ever  known.  Alfaro  ambushed  Gen.  Salazar  and 
a  small  force  of  soldiers  in  one  of  the  forests  of  Manabi, 
and  took  them  prisoners,  but  the  General  managed  to  escape. 


I 


PRESIDENT   AND   GOVERNMENT  OF   ECUADOR    89 

and,  having  joined  his  main  forces,  made  a  prompt  attack 
upon  the  rebels  and  captured  Alfaro,  who  was  banished  from 
the  country  as  a  disturber  of  the  peace. 

He  obtained  employment  in  Panama,  where  he  remained 
for  ten  years,  accumulating  considerable  money,  and  enjoying 
an  intimate  acquaintance  with  another  political  exile  from 
Ecuador  of  an  entirely  different  character, — Juan  Montvalo, 
the  founder  of  the  Liberal  party  in  that  republic.  His  literary 
works  rank  high  in  Spanish  literature  and  are  even  better 
known  in  Europe  than  in  his  own  country,  where  he  gained 
his  chief  fame  as  a  leader  of  the  revolutionary  party  and  the 
anti-church  element  of  the  population. 

Alfaro  sat  at  the  feet  of  Montvalo  for  ten  years  and 
absorbed  his  political  ideas  so  that,  in  1876,  when  an  attempt 
was  made  by  the  republicans  of  Ecuador  to  overthrow  the 
dictator  Veintemilla,  he  reappeared  in  his  native  province  and 
raised  a  regiment  for  the  revolutionary  army.  The  move- 
ment, however,  was  unsuccessful.  Alfaro  was  captured  and 
lay  for  a  year  in  a  filthy  prison  in  Guayaquil,  where  he  nearly 
died  of  dysentery.  Through  the  intercession  of  friends  he  was 
released  on  parole  and  again  banished.  For  three  years  he 
remained  quietly  in  Panama,  but  made  a  third  attempt  at 
revolution  in  1880,  which  also  failed  and  he  was  once  more  a 
fugitive.  In  1882  and  1883  he  inaugurated  other  revolutions 
that  were  more  successful  and  resulted  in  the  overthrow  of 
Veintemilla.  He  proclaimed  himself  dictator  and  it  was 
expected  that  he  would  be  given  the  presidency,  but  the 
Camaano-Flores  faction  were  better  politicians  and  succeeded 
in  seizing  the  civil  power.  Alfaro  remained  in  command  of 
the  army  for  a  few  months,  but  finding  that  he  could  make  no 
progress  he  resigned,  retired  from  the  country,  and  in  the 
following  year  organized  another  revolution  against  his  former 
allies. 

He  seized  the  steamer  Alajuela  and  cruised  down  the  coast 
from  port  to  port  towards  Guayaquil.  The  government  sent 
a  man-of-war  after  him  and  the  two  ships  fought  a  battle  in 
the  darkness  a  few  miles  off  the  coast.  The  Alajuela  caught 
fire  and  her  crew  leaped  into  the  water  to  save  themselves. 


90     BETWEEN   THE  ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

An  Irish-American  by  the  name  of  Power,  whose  acquaintance 
Alfaro  had  made  at  Panama,  took  charge  of  his  leader,  per- 
suaded him  to  crawl  into  a  barrel  and,  being  a  powerful 
swimmer,  pushed  the  barrel  ashore.  As  Alfaro  could  not 
swim  a  stroke  he  considers  that  he  owes  his  life  to  Power,  and 
has  given  evidences  of  his  gratitude  on  frequent  occasions. 
Power  now  has  command  of  the  Navy  of  Ecuador,  which 
consists  of  two  small  gun-boats,  and  is  considered  the  most 
influential  man  with  the  administration  in  the  entire  republic. 

Having  landed  on  the  beach,  Alfaro  and  Power  were  com- 
pelled to  hide  in  the  jungle  to  escape  capture,  and  made  their 
way  over  a  mountain  trail  for  200  miles  into  the  republic  of 
Colombia.  They  were  not  allowed  to  remain  there,  however, 
and  took  the  first  opportunity  to  sail  for  Nicaraugua,  where 
they  obtained  commissions  in  the  army.  They  served  under 
President  Bonilla  in  Honduras,  also  until  1895,  when  another 
revolutionary  movement  broke  out  in  Ecuador  and  they 
returned  to  participate  in  it.  Alfaro  soon  obtained  the  com- 
mand of  the  revolutionary  forces,  overthrew  the  government, 
declared  himself  dictator,  and,  in  1896,  was  elected  constitu- 
tional president. 

In  appearance  President  Alfaro  is  a  short,  stout  gentle- 
man, with  a  cordial,  yet  grave  and  confident  manner.  His 
eyes,  hair  and  complexion  testify  to  his  Indian  origin. 

Among  other  commendable  efforts  on  the  part  of  President 
Alfaro  to  redeem  Ecuador  was  the  passage  of  an  act  by  the 
congress  in  1899,  placing  the  currency  on  a  gold  standard  after 
the  expiration  of  two  years,  the  latter  condition  being  allowed 
in  order  to  give  an  opportunity  to  withdraw  and  redeem  an 
uncertain  amount  and  great  variety  of  money  now  in  circula- 
tion. The  new  law  was  written  by  Martin  Reinberg,  United 
States  vice-consul,  and  a  committee  composed  of  bankers  and 
merchants  in  Guayaquil,  to  whose  judgment  the  matter  was 
referred  by  the  president,  and  it  was  the  subject  of  long  and 
earnest  reflection.  Ecuador  has  been  a  so-called  bimetallic 
country,  but  practically  monometallic.  There  has  been  no 
gold  in  circulation,  and  none  has  been  coined  for  many  years. 
There  is  considerable  silver,  but  more  paper,  which  is  nom- 


PRESIDENT   AND   GOVERNMENT   OF   ECUADOR    91 

inally  redeemable  in  silver,  and  was  issued  by  the  banks  of 
Guayaquil.  The  standard  of  value  has  been  a  "sucre,"  which 
contains  as  many  grains  of  silver  as  the  Peruvian  "sol,"  and 
is  divided  into  decimal  fractions.  The  paper  currency  was 
issued  in  $1,  $5  and  $10  notes,  printed  on  paper  of  poor 
quality,  which  easily  wears  out,  so  that  the  banks  derive  a 
considerable  profit  from  its  destruction.  There  are  no  banks 
outside  of  Guayaquil.  Some  of  them,  however,  have  agencies 
in  other  cities.  Exchange  has  often  fluctuated  as  much  as 
from  40  per  cent  to  60  per  cent  within  a  few  months,  and 
during  recent  years,  owing  to  the  excess  of  imports,  it  was 
frequently  impossible  to  obtain  drafts  on  New  York  or  Lon- 
don. This,  of  course,  was  a  decided  embarrassment  to  all 
foreigners  traveling  or  living  in  the  country. 

The  new  law  adopts  a  bimetallic  ratio  of  30  6-10  to  i.  The 
gold  condor,  which  is  to  have  the  same  value  as  the  English 
pound  sterling  and  be  worth  $4.85  in  American  gold,  will 
become  the  standard  of  value  in  January,  1901,  and  ten  silver 
*'sucres,"  now  worth  about  48  cents  each,  will  be  equal  to  a 
gold  condor.  A  limited  amount  of  paper  can  be  issued  by 
the  banks  for  the  convenience  of  commerce,  but  must  be 
redeemable  at  the  option  of  the  holder  in  gold.  The  silver 
"sucres'*  are  also  redeemable  in  gold  to  the  amount  of  $5,  and 
its  multiples.  Exchange  was  arbitrarily  fixed  by  an  agree- 
ment between  the  banks  and  the  leading  merchants  at  $1.08 
and  $1.10,  and  was  maintained  at  that  rate.  The  business 
men  adjusted  themselves  to  the  situation  without  difficulty, 
and  as  Guayaquil  is  the  only  commercial  city  in  the  country 
the  few  merchants  who  control  the  capital  there  are  able  to 
carry  out  any  policy  they  may  decide  upon. 


VII 
THE  ZONA  SECA  OF  SOUTH  AMERICA 

Frederick  E.  Church,  the  famous  artist,  asserted  that  the 
grandest  of  mountain  scenery  may  be  found  in  Ecuador,  and 
that  there  is  nothing  elsewhere  so  imposing,  so  sublime,  as 
the  group  of  volcanic  peaks  that  lie  between  Quito  and  the 
sea,  where  he  painted  his  wonderful  picture,  "The  Heart  of 
the  Andes, ' '  Nowhere  are  wilder  freaks  in  geological  forma- 
tion ;  nowhere  more  startling  contrasts.  Within  human  vision 
are  twenty  volcanoes  covered  with  everlasting  snow  and  over 
fifty  peaks  higher  than  Mont  Blanc.  Three  of  the  volcanoes 
are  active,  five  are  slumbering  and  the  remainder  are  extinct. 
The  mountains  of  Asia  may  surpass  the  Andes  in  altitude,  but 
there  is  no  such  group  of  monsters  in  so  limited  an  area  else- 
where in  the  world. 

A  sea  of  foothills  with  the  vapor  hovering  over  them  like 
sleep  upon  a  drowsy  child  stands  in  the  foreground  beyond  the 
jungles  of  the  coast,  and  growing  bolder  and  bolder,  more  and 
more  rugged,  rises  in  irregular  terraces  which  the  Spaniards 
call  "sierras,"  because  their  uneven  summits  resemble  the 
teeth  of  a  saw.  Behind  and  over  them  the  volcanoes  lift  their 
untrodden  and  unapproachable  summits  with  stately  grandeur, 
with  snows  that  have  lain  for  ages  and  still  defy  the  tropical 
sun.  Some  of  the  peaks  are  irregular,  some  are  grotesque  in 
outline,  and  the  imaginative  minds  of  the  natives  have  fancied 
resemblances  to  various  other  works  of  nature.  Some  are 
calmly,  grandly  regular,  and  the  even  snow  upon  their  crests 
seems  edged  with  gold  when  it  catches  the  reflection  of  the 
sun,  or  is  often  a  rainbow  of  colors — violet,  crimson,  purple 
and  orange. 

Cotopaxi  is  the  loftiest  of  active  volcanoes,  but  has  been 
slumbering  for  nearly  forty  years.     The  only  evidence   of 

92 


THE   ZONA   SECA   OF   SOUTH   AMERICA         93 

internal  activity  is  the  constant  rumbling-,  which  can  often  be 
heard  and  felt  one  hundred  miles  away,  and  frequently  a  thin 
cloud  of  smoke  is  seen  creeping  from  the  crater  and  dissolving 
into  the  thin  air.  Edward  Whymper,  the  English  scientist, 
climbed  to  the  summit  of  Chimborazo  ten  or  twelve  years 
ago,  but  no  one  has  ever  reached  the  top  of  Cotopaxi.  Many 
have  attempted  it,  but  the  walls  are  so  steep  and  the  snow  is 
so  deep  that  ascent  is  impossible. 

On  the  breast  of  Cotopaxi  is  a  great  rock,  more  than  2,000 
feet  high,  which  the  natives  have  named  ''The  Inca's  Head." 
That  unreliable  old  story-teller  called  tradition  says  that  it 
was  once  the  summit  of  the  volcano,  and  fell  on  the  day  when 
the  Spaniards  strangled  Atahualpa,  the  last  of  the  Inca 
emperors. 

The  last  great  eruption  of  Cotopaxi  was  in  1859.  It  was 
followed  by  a  severe  earthquake,  which  caused  great  destruc- 
tion and  loss  of  life  in  the  surrounding  towns  and  villages.  In 
1868  the  volcano  Tunguragua,  one  of  the  largest  of  the  group, 
and  over  17,000  feet  high,  became  very  much  excited,  and 
discharged  immense  masses  of  lava  and  ashes  simultaneous 
with  a  terrestrial  convulsion  which  extended  along  the  entire 
south  Pacific  coast.  It  was  then  that  the  tidal  wave  came  into 
Arica  that  lifted  the  United  States  man-of-war  Wateree  over 
the  roofs  of  the  houses  and  landed  it  with  a  straight  heel  in  a 
sandy  plateau  about  half  a  mile  from  the  ocean,  where  it  still 
remains. 

When  you  leave  the  Guayas  River  in  Ecuador  to  go  south- 
ward you  strike  the  Zona  Seca,  the  desert  coast,  almost  as  soon 
as  you  pass  the  boundary  of  Peru.  The  steamer  follows  the 
coast  line  as  closely  as  safety  will  allow,  and  the  passengers 
are  almost  continually  in  sight  of  scenery  that  is  both  imposing 
and  repulsive.  It  bears  a  close  resembance  to  that  of  the  great 
plateau  of  Arizona.  The  western  chain  of  the  Andes,  or  the 
Cordilleras  de  la  Costa,  as  they  are  called  in  the  Spanish  geog- 
raphies, run  parallel  to  the  ocean,  with  a  strip  of  desert  about 
thirty  miles  wide  lying  between.  The  surf  has  pounded  away 
upon  it  until  the  soft  places  in  the  clay  cliffs,  which  rise  from 
the  water,  sometimes  to  the  height  of  300  and  400  feet,  have 


I 


94     BETWEEN   THE   ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

yielded,  and  present  an  outline  similar  to  the  wind-carved 
cliffs  on  the  great  American  desert.  Occasionally  a  rocky 
promontory  which  has  resisted  the  water,  extends  into  the 
sea,  gray  with  guano  dropped  by  the  millions  of  water  birds 
that  make  their  homes  along  the  wave-worn  and  forbidding 
shore. 

The  mountains  are  black,  barren  and  rugged,  and  rise  in 
ranges  like  soldiers  on  parade,  the  smaller  in  the  front  rank, 
the  taller  in  the  rear,  and  often  reach  the  snow  line,  which  in 
this  equatorial  latitude  is  about  15,000  feet  above  tidewater. 
The  mountains  appear  gloomy,  mysterious  and  forbidding 
from  a  distance,  and  I  suppose  they  would  be  even  more  dis- 
agreeable upon  intimate  acquaintance,  if  one  may  speak  in- 
that  familiar  way  of  such  monsters  of  omnipotence.  Their 
aspect  is  constantly  changing.  In  the  morning  they  are  half 
hidden  by  heavy  banks  of  clouds,  from  which  their  steel-tinted 
peaks  emerge,  as  if  the  Titans  were  too  tall  for  the  curtains 
that  nature  hangs  before  them.  At  noonday  they  show  clear, 
sharp  silhouettes  against  the  azure  sky,  and  later  in  the  day, 
when  the  sun  is  about  to  be  swallowed  by  the  ocean,  they  take 
on  a  robe  of  purple  that  becomes  them  best. 

The  desert  is  covered  with  shifting  sands,  and  just  north 
of  the  port  of  Eten,  where  many  of  the  finest  Panama  hats  are 
made,  the  roofless  walls  of  the  original  village  are  pointed 
out,  which  was  partially  buried  twenty  years  ago.  The  church 
and  several  large  adobe  houses  are  still  standing,  but  it  took 
so  much  labor  to  shovel  the  sand  out  of  the  streets  and  houses 
every  day,  that  the  people  moved  four  miles  to  the  southward 
and  started  a  new  town  in  the  shelter  of  a  bluff  640  feet  high. 
There  is  a  railroad  there  which  runs  to  the  town  of  Chicalayo, 
a  little  oasis  in  the  desert,  where  a  stream  has  the  courage  to 
come  out  of  the  mountains  and  irrigate  large  fields  of  sugar 
and  rice.  An  iron  mole  at  Eten  extends  about  1,000  feet  into 
the  sea,  beyond  the  heavy  rollers,  but  it  is  impossible  for  a 
steamer  to  reach  it,  and  all  the  passengers  and  cargo  that 
come  and  go  are  hoisted  up  and  down  by  cranes  that  are  run 
with  steam.  The  passengers,  for  safety,  are  locked  into  iron 
cages  which  are  suddenly  hoisted  from  the  pier,  swung  around 


THE   ZONA   SECA   OF  SOUTH   AMERICA         95 

into  the  air  and  then  dropped  into  the  lighters  at  an  opportune 
moment  as  a  wave  passes  by. 

Near  by  Eten  is  the  village  of  Santa  Rosa,  which  is  unique 
and  famous  as  being  the  only  place  in  Peru  where  the  original 
Chimu  language  is  spoken,  and  where  the  Indians  have  pre- 
served their  ancient  customs  and  protected  their  race  from 
adulteration  with  the  Spaniards.  They  have  accepted  the 
catholic  religion,  but  it  is  strangely  mixed  with  the  peculiar 
customs  which  the  people  have  inherited. 

A  great  deal  of  water  comes  down  from  the  mountains, 
caused  by  the  melting  snows  and  the  rains  that  fall  in  the 
interior,  but  it  is  swallowed  by  the  thirsty  desert  before  it  can 
reach  the  sea.  Back  toward  the  foothills,  before  the  streams 
disappear  in  the  sand,  there  is  considerable  agricultural 
activity,  and  shiploads  of  produce  are  sent  north  and  south  to 
less  favored  regions  by  the  steamers  that  ply  this  coast. 

The  geologists  say  that  the  highest  peaks  of  these  moun- 
tains were  once  submerged  in  the  sea,  and  are  the  result  of 
upheaval  and  the  accumulation  of  sediment  from  the  subsid- 
ing waters.  They  were  subjected  not  only  to  water,  but  also 
to  intense  heat  and  acid  vapors  which  changed  the  feldspar 
into  sulphates  of  alumina  and  iron  and  into  chlorides  and 
iodides  and  all  sorts  of  minerals  with  long  names  which  have 
made  Peru  the  richest  territory  on  earth,  although  the  greater 
part  of  the  deposits  are  inaccessible  without  railway  transpor- 
tation. The  desert  is  rich  in  petroleum,  sulphur,  salt,  nitrates, 
gypsum,  magnesia  and  borax.  The  foothills  conceal  an 
abundance  of  silver,  gold,  copper,  lead,  coal,  iron  and  nickel, 
and  far  in  the  interior  are  found  emeralds,  rubies,  turquoise 
and  even  diamonds — the  jewels  with  which  the  Incas  adorned 
their  persons — but  the  region  is  so  inhospitable  that  man 
cannot  exist  there. 

The  first  place  of  importance  is  Paita,  a  collection  of  mud 
huts,  which  has  considerable  commerce  because  it  is  the  port 
of  Piura,  the  second  city  in  Peru,  the  center  of  a  rich  agricul- 
tural district  and  a  sanitarium,  with  which  it  is  connected  by 
a  railway.  But  all  the  climates  on  the  face  of  the  earth  are 
found  in  the  Andes,  caused  by  the  modifying  influences  of 


96     BETWEEN   THE   ANDES  AND  THE  OCEAN 

elevation.  The  montana,  as  they  call  it,  which  slopes  off  to 
the  east  from  the  summits  of  the  range,  has  a  dense  growth 
of  timber  and  a  rich  soil  when  cleared;  the  puna,  a  great 
plain  between  the  two  ranges  of  the  Andes,  is  a  dreary  and 
cheerless  region,  too  high  and  cold  to  support  mankind 
without  severe  labor.  The  sierra,  as  the  foothills  are  called, 
possesses  a  charming  climate  and  an  atmosphere  that  is  as 
pure  as  air  can  be,  where  rain  seldom  falls  and  where  there  is 
nothing  to  corrupt  the  original  plan  of  nature. 

Like  the  arid  lands  of  Arizona  and  southern  California,  the 
desert  coast  of  Peru  is  rich  in  vegetable  life  whenever  it  can 
be  moistened.  The  dry  sand  is  filled  with  the  germs  of  plants, 
fruits  and  flowers,  which  in  some  remote  cycle  and  under 
entirely  different  atmospheric  conditions  flourished  and 
ripened.  Sometimes,  about  once  a  generation,  a  shower 
escapes  from  the  mountains  and  is  poured  over  the  sands. 
The  hitherto  lifeless  earth  springs  immediately  into  being. 
In  1892,  upon  the  desert  between  Plata  and  Piura  there  fell  a 
series  of  unprecedented  rains.  Within  a  few  days  the  surface 
of  the  earth  was  alive  with  sprouting  plants  and  afterward 
with  brilliant  flowers,  many  of  which  were  unknown  to  botan- 
ists. Vegetables  and  melons  grew  in  profusion  and  furnished 
abundant  food  to  the  wondering  inhabitants,  who  regarded  it 
as  a  miracle.  Even  a  heavy  fog  sometimes  brings  out  the 
vegetation  and  causes  the  undigested  seeds  dropped  by  the 
mule  trains  to  sprout  and  root  and  grow  to  sufficient  height  to 
feed  the  animals. 

Twenty  years  ago  an  enterprising  Chinaman  built  an  inn 
midway  between  Paita  and  Piura.  All  his  supplies  were 
brought  from  the  latter  place,  and  even  his  water  was  trans- 
ported seven  leagues  on  the  cars.  It  occurred  to  him  to  drive 
a  well,  and  a  short  distance  below  the  surface  he  found  an 
abundance  of  water,  with  which  he  irrigated  a  little  garden 
and  raised  vegetables  and  fruits  that  were  the  wonder  of  the 
coast.  These  lands  were  supposed  to  be  the  property  of 
the  state,  and  no  mortal  ever  claimed  ownership  to  them  until 
one  day  a  man  appeared  to  demand  the  surrender  of  the  half 
acre  of  garden  which  the  Chinaman  had  made  a  blessing  to  all 


THE   ZONA  SECA  OF   SOUTH   AMERICA         97 

that  region.  A  reference  to  the  records  showed  that  the 
claimant  had  inherited  from  his  ancestors  a  grant  from  the 
Spanish  crown  which  made  him  the  owner  of  a  certain  area 
* 'along  the  River  Chuyra,  and  then  toward  the  orient  as  far 
as  goats  would  go  without  water. " 

On  the  top  of  the  hill  above  the  town  of  Paita  is  a  big  cross 
which  was  erected  many  generations  ago  by  a  pious  priest 
to  frighten  the  devil  away  from  the  town,  but  from  the  repu- 
tation of  some  of  the  inhabitants  the  precaution  was  not 
successful.  Fronting  the  custom  house  in  the  main  street, 
near  the  end  of  the  pier,  is  the  Church  of  St.  Merced,  which 
shelters  a  most  remarkable  image  of  wood.  According  to  the 
story  told  there,  about  200  years  ago  Lord  Anson,  an  English 
admiral,  attacked  the  town,  drove  all  the  people  into  the 
church  and  locked  the  doors,  while  his  sailors  sacked  the 
houses.  After  they  had  secured  all  the  plunder  they  could 
find  they  turned  the  inhabitants  into  the  street  and  destroyed 
the  interior  of  the  temple  so  far  as  they  were  able.  They 
tipped  the  images  from  the  altar  and  hacked  them  with  their 
swords,  and  when  one  sacrilegious  ruffian  struck  a  wooden 
effigy  of  the  Virgin  across  the  neck  with  his  cutlass  blood 
flowed  freely  from  the  wound.  And  ever  since,  on  the  anni- 
versary of  that  sacrilege,  the  wound  bleeds  anew.  The  image 
performs  many  miracles.  A  drop  of  blood  is  a  cure  for  every 
ill  to  whomsoever  makes  a  liberal  offering,  but  the  United 
States  consul  told  us  that  few  people  believe  in  the  story  now. 

On  either  side  of  the  entrance  to  the  church  is  an  enormous 
shell  which  contains  holy  water.  They  are  said  to  be  the 
largest  shells  in  the  world,  being  about  three  feet  long  and 
two  feet  wide,  and  are  said  to  have  been  presented  to  the 
church  by  some  grateful  sailor  who  was  saved  from  shipwreck 
by  appealing  for  the  intervention  of  the  Virgin  of  Paita  during 
a  typhoon  among  the  islands  of  the  South  Sea. 

The  altar  is  covered  with  votive  offerings  and  bedecked 
with  masses  of  artifical  flowers.  The  image  of  the  Virgin  is 
clothed  in  a  robe  of  white  satin  embroidered  heavily  with 
silver.  Among  other  votive  offerings  which  have  been  placed 
upon  the  altar  by  devotees  who  have  enjoyed  the  succor  of 


98     BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

the  Virgin,  is  a  painted  ship  carrying  at  its  masthead  the  flag 
of  the  United  States,  showing  that  some  grateful  Yankee 
skipper  was  saved  from  shipwreck  by  her  miraculous  powers. 

Piura  is  a  famous  sanitarium  and  is  visited  by  invalids  from 
all  along  the  coast  of  Chile  and  Peru.  Nervous  diseases, 
consumption,  bronchitis  and  other  ailments  of  the  lungs  and 
throat  are  said  to  be  cured  within  a  few  months,  and  even  the 
dead  in  that  rare  atmosphere  escape  the  ordinary  process  of 
putrefaction.  It  is  said  that  an  open  coffin  containing  the 
body  of  a  dead  priest  lay  for  several  years  in  the  open  cemetery. 

During  the  civil  war  in  the  United  States,  when  cotton 
commanded  high  prices,  an  enterprising  Yankee,  living  in  that 
section,  introduced  its  cultivation  on  the  plains  around  Piura, 
with  great  success.  The  Incas  raised  immense  quantities  of 
the  staple  in  that  locality  and  at  other  places  along  the  coast 
before  the  conquest,  and  with  it  made  their  garments.  A 
considerable  quantity  is  still  raised  and  shipped  to  Europe, 
where  it  is  used  for  the  adulteration  of  silks  and  wool.  It  is 
not  planted  annually,  like  the  cotton  of  the  United  States,  but 
the  same  plants  bear  for  several  years  in  succession  and  yield 
a  continuous  crop.  The  seed  has  been  taken  to  other  regions, 
where  it  was  supposed  the  soil  offered  similar  advantages,  but 
every  attempt  to  raise  the  peculiar  Piura  cotton  has  been  a 
failure. 

The  natural  color  of  the  fiber  is  a  light  brown,  and  it  can- 
not be  bleached.  The  natives  use  it,  as  the  Incas  did,  for 
weaving  ponchos  and  other  garments.  It  never  fades.  The 
bodies  of  mummies  which  have  lain  in  the  ground  for  several 
centuries  wrapped  in  cloth  made  from  this  fiber  are  often 
exhumed,  and  the  cerements  when  exposed  to  the  air  recover 
their  brilliancy  of  color.  The  shipments  of  cotton  from  Paita 
amount  to  about  the  value  of  $1,200,000  a  year. 

The  petroleum  interest  of  Peru,  which  is  very  large, 
although  still  undeveloped,  centers  at  Tjimbez,  on  the  northern 
frontier,  where  Pizarro  landed  with  his  expedition  for  the 
conquest  of  Peru  after  leaving  the  island  of  Puno.  There  was 
a  palace  of  the  Incas,  and  there  the  Spaniards  first  beheld  the 
opulence  and  civilization  of  their  empire.     Pizarro  explored 


THE  ZONA  SECA   OF  SOUTH   AMERICA         99 

the  country  without  interruption,  cultivated  the  good  will  of 
the  natives,  and  attached  to  himself  two  young  men,  who  were 
instructed  in  Spanish,  so  as  to  serve  as  interpreters.  After 
remaining  at  Tumbez  for  several  months  he  returned  to 
Panama  and  from  there  went  to  Spain  to  report  and  place  his 
plans  before  the  emperor.  He  asked  for  a  force  of  250  men, 
with  arms  and  ammunition,  which  he  agreed  to  pay  for,  and 
also  promised  that  the  king  should  have  all  the  territory  he 
should  conquer  and  one-fifth  of  the  treasure  he  found.  It  is 
an  interesting  historical  fact  that  Cortez,  who  had  recently 
returned  from  the  conquest  of  Mexico,  furnished  Pizarro  the 
funds  to  fit  out  his  expedition,  and  that  Fernando  de  Soto, 
who  afterward  discovered  the  Mississippi  River,  was  second 
in  command. 

The  Spaniards  discovered  the  oil  shortly  after  their  arrival 
and  used  it  for  lubricating  purposes,  as  the  natives  had  done 
before  them,  but  no  attempt  was  made  to  bore  wells  until 
about  thirty  years  ago,  when  a  Pennsylvania  prospector 
named  Larkin  and  his  associates  came  down  here  and  explored 
the  country.  They  satisfied  themselves  of  the  extent  and 
quality  of  the  deposits  and  asked  from  the  government  an 
exclusive  concession  for  refining  and  selling  oil  in  Peru.  They 
demanded  a  complete  monopoly  and  overreached  themselves. 
The  government  was  willing  to  give  them  an  exclusive  right 
to  refine  for  a  certain  term  of  years  and  place  a  heavy  duty 
upon  imported  oil,  but  would  not  prohibit  importations  nor 
g^ve  a  perpetual  monopoly. 

Several  attempts  were  afterward  made  to  interest  the 
Standard  Oil  Company,  which  sent  men  from  New  York  to 
make  an  investigation,  but  for  some  reason  that  great  octopus 
did  not  utilize  the  opportunity  that  was  offered  and  the  oil 
wells  were  idle  until  about  twelve  years  ago,  when  an  English 
company  erected  refineries  and  has  since  been  producing  a 
limited  quantity.  Other  companies  followed  the  example  and 
tank  steamers  were  built  to  transport  the  oil  up  and  down  the 
coast,  where  the  total  absence  of  wood  and  the  high  price  of 
coal  give  the  fuel  question  great  importance.  To  aid  the 
companies  the  government  imposed  a  heavy  duty  upon  North 


loo   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

American  petroleum  and  the  local  product  is  now  selling  for 
about  1 8  cents  a  gallon.  The  locomotives  on  several  of  the 
railroads  were  equipped  with  oil  burners  and  for  a  time  used 
that  kind  of  fuel,  but  for  some  reason  or  other  they  soon 
abandoned  them,  and  prefer  to  pay  all  the  way  from  $io  to 
$15  a  ton  for  coal  rather  than  use  oil.  I  have  not  been  able 
to  ascertain  the  reason.  The  oil  of  Tumbez,  however,  is  still 
burned  in  several  manufacturing  establishments  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Lima. 

So  far  as  exploration  has  gone  the  petroleum  beds  cover 
an  area  of  16,000  square  miles,  and  as  the  neighboring  country 
is  of  precisely  the  same  geological  character  it  is  assumed  that 
the  field  is  practically  unlimited.  The  wells  are  from  200  to 
500  feet  deep  and  very  little  water  is  found.  The  crude  oil 
differs  essentially  from  that  of  Pennsylvania  in  the  absence  of 
paraffin,  and  can  be  exposed  to  a  very  low  temperature  with- 
out becoming  solidified.  The  analysis  is  similar  to  that  of  the 
oil  of  Russia. 

About  $4,000,000  has  already  been  invested  in  refineries 
and  other  plants  and  in  a  line  of  tank  steamers,  \)ut  for  some 
reason  the  industry  does  not  flourish,  is  not  considered  profita- 
ble, and  several  of  the  refineries  are  idle. 

As  I  have  suggested,  the  fuel  problem  is  a  serious  one 
along  this  coast.  There  is  no  coal  mined  between  Coronel, 
a  town  about  400  miles  south  of  Valparaiso,  Chile,  and  Puget 
Sound.  The  Chile  coal  is  a  medium  quality  of  bituminous, 
and  is  used  by  most  of  the  steamers,  selling  for  $6  and  $7  a 
ton.  The  mines  are  on  the  bluffs  that  overhang  the  ocean,  so 
that  it  is  easily  handled.  Overhead  railways  have  been  con- 
structed from  the  tunnels  to  the  end  of  piers  so  that  buckets 
of  coal  filled  in  the  mines  can  be  dumped  into  the  vessels 
automatically.  The  English  steamship  company  prefers  to 
bring  its  coal  from  Cardiff  in  sailing  vessels  around  Cape 
Horn,  and  stores  it  in  old  hulks  in  Panama  and  Callao.  The 
Pacific  Mail  steamers  on  the  west  coast  of  Mexico  and  Central 
America  bring  their  coal  in  the  same  way  from  Baltimore  and 
Newport  News,  while  their  supply  at  San  Francisco  comes 
from  British  Columbia. 


THE   ZONA   SECA   OF  SOUTH   AMERICA       loi 

There  is,  no  doubt,  a  vast  quantity  of  coal  in  the  Peruvian 
mountains.  Outcroppings  appear  at  frequent  intervals  for 
several  hundred  miles,  but  they  lie  a  considerable  distance 
inland,  across  the  desert  and  west  of  the  first  range  of  sierras, 
which  makes  the  deposits  inaccessible  and  useless  without  the 
construction  of  expensive  railways. 

A  company  was  formed  in  the  United  States  to  develop  a 
large  deposit  of  anthracite  coal  about  120  miles  northeast  of 
Pacasmayo,  and  Mr.  G.  Clinton  Gardner,  formerly  a  division 
superintendent  on  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  is  in  charge  of 

I  the  enterprise.  The  railway  by  the  nearest  route  will  not  be 
less  than  112  miles  long,  and  must  cross  the  mountains  at  an 
altitude  of  12,000  feet,  which  will  make  construction  very 
expensive,  although  there  are  said  to  be  no  serious  engineer- 
ing difficulties.  The  government  of  Peru  is  willing  to  lend  its 
credit,  which  is  not  first-class,  and  give  a  nominal  subsidy; 
but  as  near  as  I  can  find  out  the  difficulty  lies  in  the  lack  of  a 
safe  and  convenient  port  on  the  ocean. 

Pacasmayo  has  no  harbor.  Ships  have  to  anchor  in  an 
open  roadstead  with  a  dangerous  bottom  and  a  heavy  surf, 
which  is  sometimes  so  high  that  they  are  unable  to  land  either 
cargo  or  passengers.  A  substantial  steel  pier  has  been 
extended  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  into  the  ocean,  with  a 
line  of  railway  upon  it,  and  connects  with  a  road  that  runs 
into  the  interior  for  twenty-five  or  thirty  miles.  Formerly  the 
cars  upon  this  pier  were  moved  by  sail  power.  Pacasmayo 
has  the  benefit  of  what  sailors  call  a  "soldiers*  wind,"  which 
always  blows  from  the  same  direction,  and  generally  stiff 
enough  to  furnish  motive  power  to  move  a  heavily  loaded  car, 
but  that  novel  method  has  been  abandoned  and  a  little  switch 
engine  now  does  the  work. 

Passengers  and  freight  are  hoisted  up  and  down  from  and 

;to  immense  lighters  by  steam  cranes,  but  it  would  be  difficult 
and  expensive  to  handle  coal  in  that  way.     The  only  good 

|port  on  this  part  of  the  coast  is  at  Chimbote,  a  hundred  miles 
or  more  to  the  southward.  That  has  a  land-locked  harbor, 
with  plenty  of  water,  and  it  would  be  easy  and  inexpensive  ta 
construct  docks  with  chutes  by  which  the  coal  could  be  trans- 


I02    BETWEEN   THE  ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

ferred  directly  from  the  cars  to  the  steamer ;  but  the  distance 
from  Chimbote  to  the  mines  is  nearly  twice  as  far  as  from 
Pacasmayo,  and  the  railway  would  cost  twice  as  much.  It  is 
argued,  however,  that  the  difference  in  the  cost  of  handling 
coal  would  more  than  pay  the  interest  upon  the  money  neces- 
sary to  build  the  longer  line. 

Another  important  feature  in  the  fuel  problem  on  the  west 
coast  of  South  America  which  must  be  considered  in  connec- 
tion with  all  coal  mining  investments,  is  the  fact  that  the  large 
fleets  of  sailing  vessels  which  carry  nitrates  from  the  coast  of 
Chile  to  the  ports  of  Great  Britain  and  Continental  Europe, 
find  coal  the  most  convenient  and  profitable  return  cargo,  and 
often  bring  it  from  Cardiff  and  Hamburg  around  Cape  Horn 
to  Iquiqui  and  Antafogasta  for  five  shillings  or  one  dollar 
and  twenty-five  cents  a  ton,  when  no  other  freight  is  offered. 
At  other  times  it  is  brought  as  ballast  and  sold  on  commission 
for  whatever  it  brings  over  the  market  price  in  Europe.  Sev- 
eral hundred  of  the  finest  sailing  ships  in  the  world  are 
engaged  in  this  traffic  under  the  British,  French,  German  and 
Norwegian  flags,  and  their  consignees  control  the  coal  market. 
By  pooling  their  interests  they  are  able  to  keep  up  the  price 
and  make  a  large  profit,  so  that  any  mine  that  may  be  opened 
is  at  their  mercy.  Some  years  ago  the  Standard  Oil  Company 
almost  ruined  the  petroleum  producers  in  Peru  by  underselling 
them.  The  sailing  ships  which  carried  nitrate  of  soda  to  the 
United  States  were  loaded  with  refined  petroleum  at  New 
York,  Baltimore  and  Norfolk  and  brought  it  to  the  ports  of 
Chile  and  Peru  as  ballast,  where  it  was  sold  for  just  enough  to 
cover  its  original  cost  and  the  duty.  The  refiners  of  Peru 
cannot  produce  the  same  grade  of  oil  and  cannot  sell  even  the 
poor  quality  that  they  do  make  at  such  low  prices  without 
losing  money,  hence  for  a  time  they  were  deprived  of  thej 
greater  part  of  their  market  and  several  of  the  refineries  were] 
compelled  to  shut  down. 

Not  long  ago,  up  in  the  mountains  north  of  Pacasmayo,! 
near  the  town  of  Cajamarca,  the  pious  people  burned  an  old] 
woman  for  a  witch.  They  had  suffered  from  various  plagues] 
individually  and  collectively,    and  in    seeking    for  a    cause 


THE   ZONA   SECA   OF   SOUTH   AMERICA        103 

accused  a  poor  old  Indian  hag  of  witchcraft.  The  village 
padre  was  consulted,  and  by  his  advice  she  was  burned  at  the 
stake,  as  was  formerly  done  to  such  persons  in  New  England. 
But  the  imitator  of  the  Rev.  Cotton  Mather,  of  Salem,  Mass., 
was  arrested,  convicted,  stripped  of  his  sacerdotal  robes  and 
sentenced  for  life  to  the  penitentiary  in  Lima,  where  he  is  now 
employed  in  manufacturing  harness.  It  occurred  to  me  that 
the  people  of  our  southern  States  might  find  a  moral  in  this 
little  incident. 

Witchcraft  is  generally  believed  in  among  the  Indians,  and 
at  nearly  every  town  along  this  coast  of  Peru  you  will  find 
crosses  erected  at  conspicuous  places,  which  are  expected  to 
frighten  the  devil  away,  just  as  the  Chinese  place  screens  in 
front  of  the  entrances  to  their  houses  to  keep  out  evil  spirits, 
but  the  people  are  ignorant  Indians.  Not  one  out  of  one 
hundred  can  read  or  write. 

The  Island  of  San  Lorenzo,  one  of  the  largest  upon  the 
whole  western  coast  of  South  America,  which  protects  the 
harbor  of  Callao,  is  a  modern  improvement.  It  was  not  there 
when  the  Spaniards  came,  but  was  born  October  28,  1746, 
when  the  natives  believe  it  rose  from  the  bottom  of  the  sea  as 
a  monument  to  commemorate  an  earthquake  which  took  place 
on  that  occasion  and  destroyed  the  city  of  Callao.  The  geolo- 
gists, however,  assert  that  this  story  is  preposterous  because 
the  island  shows  signs  of  greater  age,  is  composed  of  the  same 
rock  as  that  upon  which  the  town  is  resting,  contains  the 
same  fossils,  is  covered  with  the  same  soil  as  the  adjacent 
shore  and  belongs  to  an  older  period  than  the  middle  of  the 
last  century.  They  admit  that  the  earthquake  may  have  sep- 
arated the  island  from  the  mainland,  and  the  topographical 
appearance  confirms  such  a  theory,  but  that  the  great  barren 
pile  of  rocks  came  into  existence  as  Venus  did  they  positively 
deny      It  is,  nevertheless,  a  pretty  legend. 

One  Lorenzo  Villalta,  a  humble  fisherman,  was  setting  his 
nets  in  the  bay  on  the  night  of  October  27,  1746,  when  he  was 
interrupted  by  a  prodigious  commotion  on  the  inside  of  the 
earth.  He  was  frightened  into  a  swoon  and  when  he  awoke 
found  himself  on  the  top  of  a  mountain  entirely  surrounded  by 


I04   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

water.  He  could  see  the  shore  line  clearly,  but  it  looked 
strange  to  him,  and  the  city  of  Callao  had  disappeared.  With 
difficulty  he  made  his  way  down  to  the  water  and  swam  to  the 
mainland,  where  he  found  that  the  town  had  been  entirely 
destroyed  by  an  earthquake  and  a  tidal  wave,  and  that  5,000 
persons  had  perished.  To-day  at  low  tide  the  submerged 
walls  of  the  old  city  can  be  seen  through  the  clear  water  where 
the  Yankee  cruiser  Newark  is  anchored,  and  because  of  the 
extraordinary  experience  of  Lorenzo  Villalta  the  island  was 
christened  in  honor  of  his  patron  saint. 

Earthquakes  are  frequent  at  Lima.  A  tremblor — that  is, 
a  gentle  shaking  of  the  earth — occurs  every  few  days,  but  the 
houses  are  built  to  endure  it,  and  the  people  do  not  give  such 
things  much  attention ;  but  when  the  windows  rattle  and  the 
pictures  swing  like  the  pendulum  of  a  clock,  and  the  flagstaff 
on  the  roof  describes  an  arc  in  the  sky,  it  means  that  a  tier- 
ramotor  is  in  operation,  and  the  inhabitants  run  out  into  the 
street  as  soon  as  possible  and  commence  to  say  their  prayers. 
Little  destruction  has  been  caused  by  earthquakes  for  many 
years,  but  nature  is  very  uncertain.  In  the  mysterious  moun- 
tains all  sorts  of  things  are  going  on  and  there  is  no  telling 
what  capers  they  may  indulge  in. 

The  castle  of  San  Felipe  in  the  harbor  of  Callao  is  famous 
because  the  Spanish  flag  waved  from  its  battlements  for  the 
last  time  on  the  continent  of  America.  It  was  the  ultimate 
refuge  of  Spanish  authority  on  this  continent,  and  the  gov- 
ernor of  Peru,  with  a  garrison,  was  beleagured  there  for  eleven 
months  by  the  armies  of  the  patriots  during  the  war  for 
independence.  They  did  not  surrender  until  they  had  eaten 
all  their  old  boots  and  shoes,  made  soup  of  the  rats  and  mice 
and  other  animals  that  infested  the  place,  and  three-fourths  of 
them  had  died  of  starvation  and  exhaustion. 

In  the  harbor  the  historic  line-of -battle  ship  Naiad,  with 
a  high  poop  and  hanging  deck,  which  fought  with  the  fleet  of 
Nelson  at  Trafalgar,  was  until  a  short  time  ago  condemned  to 
the  humble  duty  of  a  storehouse  for  coal,  old  anchors,  chains 
and  cordage  for  the  British  fleet  on  this  coast,  but  has  recently 
been  broken  up,  and  canes  are  now  being  made  of  its  timbers^ 


THE   ZONA   SECA   OF   SOUTH    AMERICA        105 

A  curious  phenomenon  is  often  observed  at  Callao.  Very 
frequently  sailors  awaken  in  the  morning  to  find  the  woodwork 
and  iron  of  the  ships  covered  with  a  brownish  moisture  that 
looks  like  dew,  and  unless  it  is  rubbed  off  immediately  it  will 
stain  old  paint  permanently.  It  does  not  stick  to  new  paint 
and  may  be  wiped  off  at  any  time  within  a  few  hours.  This  is 
called  "the  Callao  painter,"  and  the  phenomenon  has  never 
been  satisfactorily  explained.  Nor  is  it  to  be  found  in  any 
other  port  in  the  world.  One  theory  is  that  fumes  of  sul- 
phuric acid  or  some  other  acid  are  forced  up  through  the 
water  from  the  bottom  of  the  ..^harbor  during  the  night, 
and  that  seems  to  be  reasonable,  but  no  discolored  dew  is 
noticed  on  land,  and  when  it  is  falling  it  is  not  perceptible 
to  persons  aboard  the  ship ;  nor  does  it  affect  the  health  of 
the  sailors  in  any  way.  It  simply  adds  to  their  labor  and 
injures  their  morals  because  it  compels  them  to  do  a  lot  of 
extra  scrubbing  and  to  buy  a  quantity  of  extra  paint.  It  is 
especially  trying  to  men-of-war,  and  they  avoid  Callao  harbor 
for  that  reason. 

The  old  city  of  Callao  has  been  the  scene  of  many  exciting 
events.  A  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago  an  earthquake  and  a 
tidal  wave  entirely  changed  the  topography  of  that  part  of  the 
coast,  destroyed  5,000  lives,  and  left  the  original  city  under 
the  bed  of  the  bay,  where  vessels  now  anchor.  In  1866 
during  the  war  between  Spain  and  the  republics  on  this  coast, 
a  Spanish  fleet  bombarded  Callao,  but  was  driven  off  with  a 
terrible  loss.  In  the  war  with  Chile  it  was  blockaded  for 
nearly  a  year,  and  some  curious  incidents  occurred. 

One  day,  while  the  blockading  squadron  of  Chile  lay  off 
the  port,  a  small  coasting  boat  came  drifting  out  of  the  har- 
bor. It  was  filled  with  fresh  vegetables  and  there  appeared 
to  be  no  one  on  board.  From  all  the  vessels  of  the  fleet  boats 
were  at  once  lowered,  and  there  was  a  lively  scramble  to 
secure  the  prize,  for  the  seamen  had  been  living  for  months 
on  short  rations  of  beans  and  pork  and  canned  stuff,  and  the 
luscious-looking  vegetables  sharpened  their  appetites.  After 
a  good  deal  of  pulling  and  hauling  and  swearing  a  boat's  crew 
from  the  man-of-war  Loa  secured  possession  of  the  coaster. 


N 


io6   BETWEEN  THE  ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

and  the  officer  in  command  generously  promised  to  send  some 
of  its  contents  to  its  rivals,  but  never  did. 

The  prize  was  hauled  alongside  of  the  Loa  and  its  cargo 
transferred  to  the  deck  of  that  vessel.  The  last  thing  in  the 
bottom  was  a  bag  of  potatoes,  and  when  that  was  lifted  an 
explosion  occurred  that  made  all  the  vessels  in  the  harbor 
tremble  and  sent  the  Loa  to  the  bottom  with  all  on  board. 
Captain  Paul  Boynton,  the  famous  swimmer,  who  was  then  in 
Callao,  had  rigged  a  powerful  torpedo  in  the  bottom  of  the 
boat,  so  arranged  that  it  would  explode  when  that  bag  of 
potatoes  was  lifted.  How  well  this  scheme  succeeded  the 
navy  of  Chile  knows. 

But  even  this  disastrous  experience  did  not  teach  the 
Chilanos  caution,  for  a  few  weeks  afterward  the  same  trick 
was  repeated  with  almost  as  great  success.  Torpedoes  were 
rigged  in  the  air  chambers  of  a  life-boat,  which  was  hand- 
somely painted  and  sent  adrift.  It  was  soon  picked  up  by  the 
Corodanja,  a  Chilano  cruiser,  and,  after  being  carefully 
examined,  was  declared  to  be  all  right;  but  as  soon  as  the 
tackle  from  the  davits  was  hitched  on  and  the  seamen  began 
to  haul  the  prize  on  board  the  torpedoes  exploded,  killed 
several  men  and  made  a  great  hole  in  the  side  of  the  man-of- 
war.  The  same  Yankee  that  rigged  up  the  vegetable  boat 
prepared  this  trap,  and  when  the  Chilanos  captured  Peru  they 
hunted  high  and  low  for  him,  but  he  had  escaped,  with  the  aid 
of  one  of  the  captains  of  a  Pacific  Steam  Navigation  Com- 
pany's steamers,  in  woman's  garments. 

The  same  fleet  was  gulled  again  in  a  very  clever  way  by 
Captain  Petrie,  in  the  employ  of  the  Pacific  Steam  Navigation 
Company.  One  morning  his  vessel  appeared  in  the  harbor  of 
Callao  with  the  yellow-fever  flag,  so  well  known  on  that  coast, 
at  her  masthead,  and  the  union  jack  at  halfmast,  with  the 
ensign  down,  as  a  signal  of  distress.  The  blockading  officers 
at  once  challenged  her  and  the  captain  explained  that  several 
of  his  officers  and  engineers,  the  doctor,  and  more  than  half  of 
the  crew  were  down  with  yellow  fever. 

"Then  get  out  of  here,"  answered  the  blockade  com- 
mander. 


I 


THE   ZONA  SECA  OF  SOUTH   AMERICA       107 

**I  can't  go,"  was  the  reply.  **I  have  very  little  coal,  no 
one  to  run  the  engines,  and  there  are  not  well  hands  enough 
on  board  to  make  sail. ' ' 

**What  do  you  want?" 

I  want  a  doctor  and  some  medicine  and  permission  to 
anchor  somewhere  here. ' ' 

"You  can't  anchor  here,"  was  the  reply. 

"Then  let  me  go  to  Callao." 

The  blockading  officers  held  a  consultation  and  finally  con- 
cluded that  it  would  be  a  good  campaign  maneuver  to  send 
yellow  fever  into  Callao,  so  the  English  captain  was  permitted 
to  pass  the  blockade.  It  was  afterward  discovered  that  the 
vessel  was  loaded  to  her  gunwales  with  arms  and  ammunition 
and  had  no  sickness  whatever  on  board.  The  captain  was 
dismissed  from  the  service  of  the  Pacific  Steam  Navigation 
Company  on  the  demand  of  the  government  of  Chile,  as  soon 
as  the  deception  was  discovered,  and  now  commands  a  vessel 
plying  between  London  and  Calcutta. 

There  is  a  statue  in  the  little  plaza  in  front  of  the  custom 
house  in  Callao,  in  honor  of  Admiral  Grau,  a  native  of  Piura, 
who  was  the  hero  of  the  war  between  Chile  and  Peru,  but  was 
altogether  too  humane  to  suit  the  temper  of  the  Spanish  race. 
During  the  earlier  part  of  the  war  the  army  of  Chile  was  con- 
centrated at  the  port  of  Antefogasta,  down  on  the  desert  coast,  ^ 
where  all  the  fresh  water  available  for  100  miles  or  more  is 
produced  by  the  condensation  of  water  pumped  up  from  the 
sea.  The  inhabitants  of  the  city,  numbering  8,000  or  10,000, 
and  the  army  of  Chile,  comprising  about  18,000  men,  were 
entirely  dependent  upon  the  condensing  factory,  which  stood 
near  the  beach,  when  Admiral  Grau  entered  the  harbor  with 
the  Peruvian  cruiser  Huascar. 

Two  Chilean  gunboats,  which  had  been  sent  there  to  sup- 
port the  army,  immediately  ran  away,  and  Grau  demanded 
the  surrender  of  the  city  and  the  military  forces.  When  his 
demand  was  refused  he  repeated  it  with  a  warning  that  unless 
his  terms  were  accepted  he  would  destroy  the  condensingf 
works  and  leavfe  them  without  water.  The  Chileans  replied 
that  he  dare  not  commit  so  inhuman  an  act  and  leave  25,000 


io8   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

or  30,000  people  to  die  of  thirst.  They  were  familiar  with  his 
generous  and  humane  disposition  and  judged  him  well; 
because,  after  thinking  the  situation  over,  he  left  the  Chilano 
army  unharmed  at  Antefogasta,  pursued  the  two  gunboats 
which  had  run  away  and  sunk  them  100  miles  up  the  coast. 

The  destruction  of  the  Esmeralda  was  memorable.  She 
was  a  corvette  of  about  1,600  tons,  commanded  by  Captain 
Arthur  Prat.  Getting  the  Esmeralda  into  close  quarters,  and 
her  captain  refusing  to  surrender,  Admiral  Grau  struck  her 
with  his  ram  and  stove  a  hole  in  her  side.  Still  Prat  refused 
to  surrender,  and  again  Grau  rammed  her,  cutting  the  vessel 
nearly  in  two.  As  she  struck.  Captain  Prat  saw  that  his  vessel 
(the  Esmeralda)  must  go  down,  and,  calling  upon  his  men  to 
follow  him,  leaped  upon  the  deck  of  the  Huascar,  with  his 
sword  in  one  hand  and  his  revolver  in  the  other.  The  two 
vessels  were  disengaged  so  quickly  and  the  crew  of  the 
Esmeralda  were  so  demoralized  by  the  shock,  that  only  one 
man,  a  seaman,  followed  the  intrepid  Prat  on  board  the 
enemy.  The  latter  ran  amuck  along  the  deck  of  the  Huascar, 
discharging  his  revolver  into  the  groups  of  men,  who  stood 
paralyzed  by  his  audacity,  and  when  his  pistol  was  empty  he 
rushed  madly  upon  them  with  his  sword. 

Admiral  Grau  sprang  from  the  pilot  house,  and,  with  the 
true  spirit  of  a  soldier  cried  out:  "Surrender,  Captain  Prat, 
surrender!  You  are  alone,  and  we  do  not  want  to  take  the 
life  of  so  brave  a  soldier ! ' '  But  Prat,  crazed  with  excitement, 
attacked  the  gunners  with  his  sword  and  was  shot  down.  As 
he  fell  his  sword  was  thrown  from  his  hand,  and,  the  point 
piercing  the  deck,  the  weapon  stood  upright  as  if  purposely 
so  placed.  There  it  remains  on  the  Huascar  to-day,  having 
never  been  removed.  Admiral  Grau,  in  his  admiration  for 
the  bravery  of  his  enemy,  had  a  box  built  around  it,  and  since 
the  vessel  has  been  in  the  possession  of  the  Chileans,  who  soon 
afterward  captured  her,  a  glass  case  has  been  substituted. 

Not  only  did  Grau  thus  recognize  the  courage  of  his  adver- 
sary, but  he  carefully  gathered  up  everything  he  could  find  of 
the  belongings  of  the  captain  and  sent  them  to  his  widow  in 
Chile,  with  a  noble  letter,  in  which  he  said : 


THE   ZONA   SECA   OF  SOUTH   AMERICA       109 

"Captain  Prat  died  a  victim  to  his  own  excessive  intre- 
pidity, in  defense  of  and  for  the  glory  of  his  country.  I  sin- 
cerely deplore  his  fate,  and  in  expressing  my  sympathy  wish 
also  to  declare  my  admiration  for  his  character  and  courage.'* 

The  Chilanos  had  an  opportunity  to  write  a  similar  letter 
to  Admiral  Grau's  widow  a  few  weeks  later,  for  his  language 
regarding  Prat's  death  would  well  describe  his  own.  The 
Huascar  was  the  swiftest  vessel  on  the  coast.  She  was  not  as 
large  and  powerful  as  some  of  the  ironclads  of  Chile,  but  was 
easily  handled,  and  Grau  was  a  skillful  seaman.  He 
attempted  with  his  little  vessel  to  fight  the  whole  fleet  of 
Chile,  and  the  battle  which  ended  his  life  and  resulted  in  the 
capture  of  the  Huascar  was  one  of  the  fiercest  known  in  the 
annals  of  marine  warfare.  The  odds  were  six  to  one,  and 
the  Huascar  might  have  escaped  capture,  but  a  shell  was 
dropped  into  a  temporary  roofless  conning  tower,  where 
Admiral  Grau  was  directing  her  movements,  and,  exploding, 
blew  him  to  atoms.  The  explosion  disabled  the  steering  gear, 
and  although  the  vessel  was  helpless,  her  crew  fought  until 
all  the  officers  but  one  lieutenant  were  killed  or  wounded. 
Then  she  surrendered  and  now  belongs  to  Chile. 

Captain  Carvajal,  the  second  in  rank,  was  badly  wounded, 
and  for  many  months  his  life  was  despaired  of,  but  he  finally 
recovered  and  is  now  living  in  Lima  on  the  retired  list  and 
serving  as  president  of  the  National  Geographical  Society. 
Carlos  Cisneros  is  the  secretary  of  that  institution. 

Having  secured  the  Huascar  and  killed  the  only  good  naval 
commander  the  Peruvians  had,  the  Chilanos  at  once  blockaded 
the  ports  of  Peru  and  invaded  her  territory  with  a  powerful 
army. 

Admiral  Grau  was  severely  censured  for  not  insisting  upon 
the  surrender  of  the  Chilano  army  at  Antefogasta,  and  he 
might  have  taken  advantage  of  the  situation  to  make  terms  of 
peace,  but  he  gave  his  life  in  defense  of  Peru,  and  nearly  all 
the  glory  that  nation  won  in  the  war  was  gained  by  his  vic- 
tories. After  he  died  the  fortunes  of  the  Peruvians  seemed  to 
change  and  they  suffered  nothing  but  disaster. 


I 


VIII 
THE  CITY  OF  THE  THREE   KINGS 

At  one  time  Lima  was  the  most  prominent  and  populous 
city  in  America,  and  it  was  the  seat  of  Spanish  power  on  the 
southern  continent  for  more  than  three  centuries.  At  first 
the  treasures  that  were  stripped  from  the  temples  and  palaces 
of  the  Incas  gave  the  Spaniards  enormous  wealth  without 
labor.  The  number  of  millions  of  dollars  in  silver  and  gold 
and  precious  stones  that  were  found  in  the  hands  of  the 
innocent  aborigines  is  a  question  of  discussion,  but  nowhere 
else  in  the  world  was  so  large  a  fund  of  portable  booty  ever 
captured.  Before  that  was  exhausted  the  Spaniards  discovered 
the  mines  from  which  it  originally  came,  and  duplicated  their 
wealth  with  little  more  labor.  From  1630  to  1824,  according 
to  the  records,  the  valley  of  Cerro  de  Paco  alone  produced 
37,200  tons  of  pure  silver  under  the  direction  of  the  Jesuits, 
while  other  mines  in  the  same  neighborhood  yielded  hundreds 
of  millions  of  dollars,  even  with  the  primitive  system  of  work- 
ing that  was  applied  to  them  by  the  monks  and  the  native 
Indians.  Then,  after  the  mineral  period  of  Peruvian  opulence 
was  passed,  the  discovery  of  guano  gave  another  source  of 
riches  that  was  even  more  productive  for  two  or  three  genera 
tions.  Then  came  the  war,  and  the  devastation  by  foreign 
invaders  and  the  havoc  of  domestic  revolutions  left  to  Lima 
only  the  shadow  of  her  former  splendor.  For  nearly  twenty 
years  the  country  was  depressed  and  the  people  suffered 
almost  beyond  precedent.  Industry  was  almost  entirely  sus- 
pended, commerce  was  reduced  to  a  mere  trifle  compared  with 
previous  records,  and  the  proud  inhabitants  lived  for  several 
years  upon  the  pawnshops. 

A  few  years  of  peace  have  almost  restored  the  appearance 
of  the  city  and  offer  most  encouraging  prospects  for  the 

no 


THE   CITY   OF  THE   THREE   KINGS  iii 

future.  The  devastations  of  the  war  have  been  entirely 
obliterated,  the  roofless  houses  have  been  rebuilt,  and  those 
that  were  damaged  are  repaired  and  repainted.  There  is  an 
air  of  freshness  and  prosperity  that  is  gratifying  The  shops 
are  filled  with  attractive  goods  and  their  counters  are  lined 
with  purchasers.  Caravans  of  carts  are  passing  back  and 
forth  in  the  streets.  Everybody  seems  to  be  employed  in  use- 
ful occupations,  and  the  faces  of  the  populace,  like  the  walls  of 
their  houses,  wear  a  pleasant  expression.  Recovery  has  come 
slowly  and  after  long  suffering,  and  it  is  all  the  more  accepta- 
ble and  appreciated. 

Pizarro  selected  the  location  for  Lima,  and  founded  the 
city  January  6,  1535,  and,  as  that  was  the  anniversary  of  the 
manifestation  of  the  Savior  to  the  Magi,  he  called  it  the  City 
of  the  Kings.  Philip  II  designed  a  coat  of  arms  for  the  infant 
capital — a  star  upon  an  azure  field  over  three  golden  crowns. 
The  churches,  convents  and  monasteries  of  Lima  were  the 
finest  and  most  costly  in  America,  and  the  records  show  that 
$90,000,000  was  invested  in  such  means  of  grace  by  the  early 
authorities.  Several  of  the  most  imposing  churches  and  two 
or  three  monasteries  have  been  preserved,  but  the  greater 
number  have  been  destroyed  or  are  badly  out  of  repair. 

While  most  of  the  piety  is  shown  by  the  women  of  the 
country,  they  are  not  allowed  to  enter  churches  with  their 
bonnets  on.  It  is  the  custom  to  wear  a  manta  or  mantilla  to 
church,  and  worshipers  who  enter  with  a  "gorra,*'  as  they 
call  a  bonnet  in  Spanish,  even  between  the  hours  of  service, 
are  immediately  ordered  out  by  the  sacristan  or  some  of  the 
other  attendants.  The  respect  usually  paid  to  the  members 
of  the  diplomatic  corps  does  not  exempt  them  from  this  rule, 
and  the  wife  of  an  American  minister,  who  was  herself  a 
catholic,  before  she  learned  that  fact  was  turned  out  of  two 
churches  because  she  had  a  hat  upon  her  head.  It  is  quite  as 
much  out  of  place  as  if  a  man  should  wear  his  hat  in  a  Chicago 
church.  All  visitors  to  the  Peruvian  churches,  ladies  as  well 
as  gentlemen,  are  compelled  to  uncover  their  heads  as  they 
enter  the  door. 

We  witnessed  an  interesting  ceremony  at  the  Cathedral, 


112    BETWEEN   THE  ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

when  Irving  Dempsey  Dudley,  Jr. ,  the  baby  son  of  the  United 
State  minister  to  Peru,  who  was  born  on  Dewey  day.  May  i, 
1899,  was  christened,  and  received  the  benediction  of  the 
pope  by  the  hands  of  Mgr.  Gasparri,  the  papal  nuncio.  The 
nuncio  also  occupies  the  post  of  apostolic  delegate  to  the 
catholic  church  in  Peru.  He  is  eminent  in  the  hierarchy,  is 
recognized  for  his  ability,  learning  and  diplomatic  skill,  and  is 
popular  in  all  classes  of  society  at  Lima.  Mrs.  Dudley  is  a 
catholic  and  preferred  that  her  child  should  be  baptized  and 
educated  in  her  religion. 

It  is  not  often  that  the  great  cathedral  is  used  for  such  a 
purpose.  This  venerable  building  was  erected  by  Pizarro, 
who  laid  the  cornerstone  in  1540,  and  for  two  or  three  cen- 
turies was  not  only  considered  the  most  magnificent  ecclesias- 
tical edifice  in  America,  but  was  the  recognized  center  of  the 
church  on  the  southern  continent.  Before  its  altar  the  vice- 
roys were  crowned;  from  the  residence  of  the  archbishop, 
which  was  formerly  adjacent,  many  an  edict  has  been  prepared 
and  issued  of  political  as  well  as  religious  importance  to  the 
American  people.  Lima  witnessed  the  last  gasp  of  the  inqui- 
sition, which  was  maintained  here  for  a  hundred  years  after  it 
was  suppressed  in  Spain,  and  its  headquarters  are  now  occu- 
pied by  the  senate  of  the  republic.  The  ceiling  of  the  old 
audience  chamber  in  which  the  senate  now  meets  is  one  of  the 
most  elaborate  and  exquisite  pieces  of  wood  carving  in  the 
world,  and  was  carved  by  the  monks  of  the  mother  country  in 
1560.  The  dungeons  in  which  the  heretics  were  confined  and 
the  rooms  in  which  they  were  tortured  are  now  used  for  the 
clerical  force  of  the  upper  house  of  the  Peruvian  legislature. 
Between  the  cathedral  and  the  inquisition  a  close  relation 
existed,  and  the  archbishop  of  Peru  was  for  centuries  the 
most  influential  prelate  in  America. 

The  remains  of  Pizarro,  a  rusty  skeleton,  lie  in  a  glass 
case  in  one  of  the  altars  of  the  cathedral,  and  are  shown 
to  visitors  who  are  willing  to  pay  the  requisite  fee.  They 
ought  to  have  a  conspicuous  place,  for  he  gave  to  the 
diocese  $9,000,000  in  gold  and  silver  that  was  stripped  from 
the  Inca  temples. 


THE   CITY  OF  THE  THREE   KINGS  113 

Another  of  the  stories  told  of  the  cathedral  is  that  in  1661, 
when  La  Palata,  the  viceroy,  rode  from  the  palace  on  the 
other  side  of  the  plaza  to  its  entrance,  the  wide  street  was 
paved  with  ingots  of  silver,  the  hoofs  of  his  horse  were  shod 
with  shoes  of  solid  gold  and  its  mane  and  tale  were  strung 
with  pearls. 

We  went  to  the  cathedral  to  pay  our  respects  to  the  remains 
of  Pizarro.  They  lie  in  a  glass  coffin,  upon  a  red  velvet  cush- 
ion, edged  with  gold  cord,  and  under  the  skull  is  a  pillow 
incased  in  the  same  material.  The  flesh  of  the  famous  con- 
quistador turned  to  dust  several  centuries  ago,  and  his  skin, 
which  is  the  color  of  parchment,  clings  in  loose  folds  to  his 
naked  bones,  which  have  been  **  articulated"  with  wire  by 
unskilled  hands.  The  toes  have  disappeared,  and  the  feet  look 
as  if  they  had  been  chopped  off  with  a  hatchet. 

The  expression  on  the  countenance  of  the  conqueror  of 
Peru  was  anything  but  pleasing  or  peaceful,  and  in  his  valiant 
struggles  he  somewhere  lost  four  of  his  teeth.  His  sword  lies 
at  his  left  side  ready  to  be  unsheathed  when  Gabriel  sounds 
the  assembly  on  the  eventful  morning.  Between  his  legs  is  a 
brass  tube,  in  which,  the  sexton  told  us,  was  the  evidence  of 
the  authenticity  of  the  skeleton.  A  glass  jar  beneath  his  feet 
contains  what  the  priest  said  were  his  brains,  and  there  was 
a  rosary  lying  beside  it,  upon  which  he  may  have  said  his 
prayers — and  no  man  ever  needed  to  say  them  more  than  he. 
Considerable  doubt  is  cast  upon  this  skeleton  because  the  skull 
bears  no  mark  of  the  blow  that  killed  Pizarro  in  1541,  but  it 
may  have  had  time  to  heal  since  then. 

An  American  woman  who  visited  Lima  several  years  ago 
claims  to  have  carried  off  one  of  Pizarro' s  toes,  but  the  popu- 
lar opinion  among  her  fellow-countrymen  here  is  that  she  was 
humbugged  by  the  sexton,  who  will  readily  sell  any  part  of 
Pizarro 's  person  for  an  adequate  sum  of  money,  and  draw  on 
the  nearest  cemetery  to  fill  the  order. 

In  the  little  chapel  where  the  remains  lie  is  a  large  altar  of 
solid  silver  that  must  have  been  very  costly,  and  an  image  of 
the  Virgin  wearing  a  golden  coronet  which  weighs  several 
pounds.     When  the  Chilean  army  was  in  Lima  this  altar  was 


114   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES  AND  THE   OCEAN 

whitewashed  and  thus  escaped  the  fate  of  all  the  other  precious 
decorations  of  the  cathedral. 

One  of  the  curious  social  laws  of  the  country  forbids  women 
to  attend  funerals,  and  they  do  not  appear  at  weddings  unless 
they  are  very  intimate  friends. 

Peru  is  the  birthplace  of  the  potato,  which  was  used  as  an 
article  of  food  by  the  Incas  and  exported  to  Europe  by  the 
Spaniards  when  they  took  over  quinine  bark  and  named  it  in 
honor  of  the  Countess  of  Chincon,  whose  husband  at  that  time 
was  viceroy.  The  Indians  had  used  the  bark  for  medicinal 
purposes  as  long  as  any  one  could  remember,  but  this  noble 
lady  was  the  first  European  to  test  its  efficacy,  and  it  proved 
so  excellent  a  cure  for  the  malaria  which  saturates  the  atmos- 
phere of  Lima  that  she  induced  the  Jesuit  fathers  to  recom- 
mend it  to  the  medicos  of  the  old  world.  These  wise  old 
chaps  sent  it  to  Spain  and  Italy,  and  it  is  said  that  one  of  the 
first  doses  of  quinine  ever  administered  in  Europe  was  swal- 
lowed by  the  pope. 

The  unregenerate  potato,  which  is  still  found  in  a  wild  state 
among  the  mountains  of  Peru,  is  a  delicate  vine  bearing  a 
fruit  about  the  size  of  a  plum  and  as  yellow  as  an  orange. 
Cultivation  has  increased  its  size  and  improved  its  flavor. 

The  scientists  say  that  the  tomato  also  originated  in  Peru, 
and  was  known  among  the  Incas  as  a  love  apple,  possessing 
peculiar  qualities  that  influenced  the  affections.  For  centuries 
after  its  discovery  the  same  superstition  prevailed  in  Europe. 

Peru  also  claims  to  be  the  mother  of  cotton,  but  I  think 
Egypt  will  dispute  that  fact. 

About  a  hundred  miles  north  of  Lima,  near  the  town  of 
Huacho,  is  one  of  the  great  curiosities  of  nature — a  salt  factory 
on  an  automatic  plan.  When  the  tide  comes  in  it  fills  a  lot  of 
shallow  basins,  and  the  water  is  prevented  from  flowing  back 
into  the  sea  by  closing  the  gates.  The  atmosphere  is  so  dry 
that  the  water  evaporates  rapidly  and  leaves  a  sediment  of 
salt  in  an  almost  pure  state,  which  is  scraped  up,  packed  into 
sacks  and  shipped  to  market.  Within  the  coast  a  little  further 
the  percolation  of  sea  water  through  the  porous  rocks  into 
pits  and  hollows  has   caused  immense    deposits   of    salt   to 


THE   CITY   OF   THE   THREE   KINGS  115 

accumulate.  The  salt  is  taken  out  in  blocks  six  or  eight 
inches  square  and  sold  in  that  form.  As  soon  as  the  pit  is 
excavated  the  water  comes  in  again  and  in  a  year  or  two  has 
solidified  and  is  ready  for  the  miner.  Wells  driven  into  the 
sand  disclose  strongly  impregnated  water  at  a  depth  of 
twenty-five  feet,  which  seems  to  be  a  great  deal  heavier  than 
the  sea  water,  and  is  drawn  off  into  vats  for  evaporation. 

The  population  of  Lima  is  uncertain,  as  there  has  been  no 
accurate  census  taken  for  many  years.  The  peons  endeavor 
to  avoid  enumeration,  because  they  are  aware  that  the  census 
lists  furnish  information  for  the  conscript  officers  who  are 
recruiting  the  army.  But  there  is  supposed  to  be  a  popula- 
tion of  about  105,000,  which  is  considerably  less  than  that  of 
twenty-five  years  ago.  In  1800  there  were  65,000  people  in 
Lima,  and  about  the  time  of  the  declaration  of  independence 
perhaps  5,000  more. 

Lima  was  formerly  surrounded  by  a  high  adobe  wall, 
which  has  been  almost  entirely  removed,  and  was  entered  by 
three  gates,  at  which  taxes  were  collected  upon  every  article 
that  passed  in  and  out,  and  head  money  was  required  of 
travelers. 

From  the  foundation  of  the  city  in  1535  to  the  abdication 
of  the  last  viceroy  in  182 1,  Peru  had  only  forty- three  rulers, 
which  is  an  average  of  about  one  in  every  seven  years.  Since 
independence  and  the  organization  of  the  republic  there  have 
been  sixty-six  presidents  and  dictators  and  seven  councils  of 
state,  which  is  an  average  of  a  little  less  than  one  a  year.  This 
indicates  how  uneasy  is  that  head  that  wears  the  crown  in  a 
South  American  republic. 

In  the  center  of  the  plaza  in  Lima  is  a  pretty  bronze  foun- 
tain that  was  erected  in  1578,  a  gift  from  some  noble  Spaniard, 
and  is  probably  the  oldest  fountain  in  America.  The  oldest 
bridge  in  America  crosses  the  Rimac  River  back  of  the  palace. 
It  was  probably  erected  about  the  same  time,  and  was  rebuilt 
in  16 10. 

In  the  Plaza  de  la  Constitution  is  a  statue  of  Bolivar,  which 
represents  the  Washington  of  South  America  seated  upon  a 
rearing  horse  like  Andrew  Jackson    in  Lafayette  Square  at 


ii6   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

Washington,  but  is  much  superior  in  design  and  execution. 
It  was  designed  and  cast  by  Cadolini  at  Munich. 

Another  beautiful  monument  of  marble  near  the  botanical 
gardens  represents  Columbus  in  the  garb  of  a  courtier  of  the 
fifteenth  century  in  the  act  of  presenting  a  cross  to  an  Indian 
girl  who  drops  an  arrow,  the  symbol  of  savagery,  at  his  feet. 

When  a  burglar  wants  to  break  into  a  Peruvian  house  he 
takes  a  sponge  and  a  bucket  of  water  and  moistens  the  walls, 
which  are  covered  with  only  a  thin  coating  of  mud,  and  easily 
dissolve  upon  the  application  of  moisture.  Then  when  the 
mud  is  removed,  he  takes  a  sharp  knife  and  cuts  the  strips  of 
split  bamboo,  which  serve  as  a  substitute  for  lath.  That  easy 
little  operation  produces  a  hole  in  the  wall  large  enough  for  a 
man  to  crawl  through,  and  can  be  performed  so  silently  that 
people  sleeping  in  the  house  will  not  be  awakened.  Not  long 
ago  the  residence  of  the  cable  manager  at  Barranca  was 
entered  in  this  way.  The  thieves  frightened  the  family,  but 
were  discovered  before  they  had  seized  much  booty. 

They  put  queer  names  on  the  signboards  in  Peru,  evidently 
intended  to  appeal  to  the  piety  of  the  purchasing  public. 
There  is  a  little  shop  in  the  lower  part  of  the  town  which  the 
proprietor  has  christened  the  *'Tienda  of  the  Holy  Spirit," 
and  a  crockery  store  on  the  main  street  bears  the  sign,  *'E1 
Progreso  de  la  Incarnacion" — the  progress  of  the  incarnation. 
A  grocery  is  called  "La  Estrella  de  Belen" — the  star  of  Beth- 
lehem. A  cantina  or  saloon  near  by  is  named  *'The  Star  of 
Destiny";  a  millinery  store,  "The  Lily  of  Delight";  while  the 
dirtiest  drinking  place  I  saw  in  Peru — and  none  are  clean — 
was  called  "The  Cluster  of  Camelias." 

All  the  native  women  wear  the  manta  when  they  go  upon 
the  street.  This  is  a  black  shawl  folded  around  the  face,  over 
the  head,  across  the  breast  and  fastened  in  the  back  with  a  pin. 
This  garment  is  said  to  have  been  inherited  from  the  native 
Indian  women  as  the  poncho,  the  familiar  blanket  with  a  hole 
for  the  head  cut  in  the  middle,  was  first  used  by  the  Indian 
men.  It  is  claimed  that  every  woman  in  the  great  empire, 
which  stretched  almost  from  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  to  the 
Straits  of  Magellan,  abandoned  colors  and  put  on  black  mantas 


THE   CITY   OF   THE   THREE   KINGS  117 

as  a  badge  of  perpetual  mourning  when  Atahualpa,  '*the  last 
of  the  Incas,"  was  strangled  by  the  Spaniards  in  1531.  There 
is  probably  some  truth  in  this  story,  for  in  the  graves  of  the 
vast  Inca  cemeteries  that  have  been  destroyed  by  scientific 
investigation  and  vandalism  no  black  garments  are  found. 
All  the  female  mummies  are  wrapped  in  mantas  of  brilliant 
colors,  which  are  worn  and  fastened  exactly  the  same  way  as 
the  present  generation  is  accustomed  to  fasten  them.  It  is 
rather  singular,  therefore,  that  the  descendants  of  the  conquis- 
tadores  should  imitate  their  victim  and  perpetuate  the  signs  of 
the  sorrow  which  the  Indians  were  caused  by  their  brutality 
and  duplicity. 

The  native  society  is  quite  exclusive,  and  social  laws  are 
rigid,  but  a  foreigner  who  goes  to  Lima  with  good  letters  of 
introduction  will  always  be  cordially  received  and  admitted  to 
the  best  circles.  American  naval  officers  are  especially  wel- 
come, for  Peruvian  belles  are  quite  as  strongly  attracted  by 
the  glitter  of  brass  buttons  as  their  sisters  in  the  United  States 
and  Europe;  but  both  the  foreign  colony  and  the  natives  have 
learned  by  experience  that  it  is  well  to  be  shy  of  strangers 
until  their  antecedents  are  ascertained.  Too  many  of  our  fel- 
low-citizens go  there  because  they  have  good  reasons  not  to 
stay  at  home,  and  it  isn't  always  safe  to  ask  an  American  down 
in  that  country  what  name  he  bore  in  the  States. 

The  social  restrictions  of  ancient  times  are  growing  lax  in 
Peru,  as  in  other  Latin -American  countries,  because  of  contact 
with  foreigners  at  home  and  abroad,  although  the  young 
women  are  not  yet  allowed  so  much  freedom  as  their  sisters  in 
United  States  and  England.  It  is  still  a  breach  of  decorum 
for  a  lady  to  receive  a  gentleman  alone  until  after  her  mar- 
riage. A  young  man  may  call  upon  his  sweetheart,  but  must 
ask  for  her  mother  or  her  father.  If  they  are  at  home  it  is 
proper  for  him  to  ask  for  the  daughter  also,  and  he  is  allowed 
to  tell  her  of  his  love,  but  their  interview  must  be  in  the 
presence  of  her  mother,  and  when  she  has  consented  to  accept 
his  hand  his  father  and  her  father  make  it  up  between  them, 
and  the  match  is  announced ;  but  no  contract  is  required,  as  in 
France,  and  money  marriages  are   infrequent,   although   of 


ii8    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

course  prudent  parents  look  out  for  the  welfare  of  their  daugh- 
ters with  quite  as  much  solicitude  as  in  the  United  States. 

The  men  of  Peru  insist  that  the  women  of  Lima  are  the 
most  beautiful  in  the  world,  and  they  are  very  attractive, 
whether  you  see  them  in  their  homes  or  clad  in  the  black 
manta  on  the  way  to  mass  in  the  morning.  They  have  won- 
derful eyes,  and  know  how  to  use  them.  The  manta  is  a 
square  shawl  of  black  China  crape,  two  yards  wide,  and  the 
amount  of  silk  embroidery  upon  it  indicates  the  wealth  of  the 
wearer.  Although  made  in  China,  the  manta  is  the  national 
costume  of  Peru,  and  is  worn  by  every  woman,  regardless  of 
rank  or  wealth,  whenever  she  appears  on  the  street.  The 
center  of  the  fold  is  placed  upon  the  forehead,  where  usually  a 
bit  of  lace  hangs  down  to  the  eyebrows.  One  end  of  the 
manta  falls  down  in  front  of  the  dress  as  far  as  the  knee.  The 
other  is  thrown  around  the  shoulders,  drawn  closely  so  as  to 
show  the  outlines  of  the  figure,  and  fastened  in  the  middle  of 
the  back  with  a  pin.  The  girls  are  slender,  short  of  stature 
and  of  graceful  form,  but  they  lose  their  beauty  of  figure  with 
maternity.  They  ripen  early,  reach  the  prime  of  beauty  at  i6 
or  17,  and  at  25  begin  to  take  on  flesh,  which  is  said  to  be  due 
to  their  lack  of  exercise  and  the  excessive  use  of  sweetmeats. 

The  dentists  say  that  the  bad  teeth  of  the  women — and  the 
men  also,  for  that  matter — in  Peru  are  due  to  the  quantity  of 
sugar  cane  they  eat  while  children,  for  there  is  an  acid  in  the 
Peruvian  cane  which  destroys  the  enamel  of  the  teeth. 

The  people  of  Peru  have  many  curious  customs  that  have 
been  handed  down  from  generation  to  generation  of  their  Span- 
ish ancestors.  They  seem  to  cling  to  them  more  tenaciously 
than  other  South  American  countries.  It  is  still  the  fashion 
here  to  have  large  families,  and  you  frequently  find  ten,  twelve 
and  fifteen  children  of  the  same  mother,  whose  grandchildren 
often  take  care  of  her  own  babies.  An  American  resident  of 
Peru  whose  wife  was  a  native  is  said  to  be  the  father  of  twenty- 
eight  children.  I  was  introduced  one  morning  to  one  man  who 
has  fourteen  living  children  and  has  buried  four. 

I  was  refused  admission  to  a  funeral  in  one  of  the  churches 
because    I    was    wearing    a    business    suit.     The  policeman 


I 


THE   CITY  OF   THE   THREE   KINGS  119 

explained  politely  that  my  garments  were  not  appropriate  to 
a  house  of  mourning.  Funereal  ceremonies  are  very 
elaborate.  When  a  member  of  a  household  dies  the  windows 
and  doors  of  the  residence  are  all  tightly  closed  or  hung  with 
black  cloth.  The  pictures  and  the  mirrors  are  turned  to  the 
wall  or  crape  is  thrown  over  them.  The  arms  of  the  chairs 
are  tied  with  bows  of  wide  black  ribbon ;  every  bit  of  color  and 
ornamentation  is  concealed,  the  piano  is  closed  and  a  black 
ribbon  is  tied  across  the  lid.  Crape  is  hung  in  festoons  from 
the  chandeliers  and  other  gas  fixtures,  and  the  vestibule  is 
heavily  draped  in  order  that  callers  may  understand  without 
inquiring  that  the  family  are  not  receiving  guests.  Every 
member  of  the  family — men,  women  and  children,  sisters, 
cousins  and  aunts  sometimes  two  or  three  degrees  removed — 
puts  on  black,  withdraws  from  society  and  shows  every  outward 
semblance  of  sorrow  for  at  least  a  year.  The  custom  of  wear- 
ing mourning  upon  the  death  of  distant  relatives  is  so  common 
that  many  families  are  never  out  of  crape,  and  nearly  every 
other  person  you  meet  wears  symbols  of  sorrow. 

A  widow  is  expected  to  pass  the  first  thirty  days  of  her 
bereavement  in  utter  silence  and  secluded  from  the  rest  of  her 
family.  She  goes  to  church  in  the  morning  to  pray  for  the 
repose  of  the  soul  of  her  husband,  and  receives  calls  of  con- 
dolence from  her  intimate  friends  in  a  darkened  chamber. 
They  remain  only  a  moment  in  her  presence,  and,  after 
embracing  her  and  shedding  a  few  tears,  retire.  A  bereaved 
husband  is  not  required  to  show  so  much  grief,  but  it  is  not 
customary  for  him  to  return  to  his  business  until  thirty  days 
after  the  funeral,  and  for  a  year  at  least  he  is  debarred  from 
the  club  and  other  places  of  familiar  association. 

In  the  newspapers  there  is  a  column  entitled  "Defun- 
ciones,"  in  which  are  announcements  reading  as  follows  (I 
take  one  at  random  from  a  morning's  paper) : 

**The  widow,  sons,  daughters,  sons-in-law,  daughters-in-law, 
brothers-in-law,  grandchildren,  nephews,  nieces  and  cousins  of 
him  who  was  Dr.  Fidel  Manuel  Carranza  (Q.  E.  P.  D.)  suppli- 
cate that  his  late  friends  will  be  so  gracious  as  to  honor  them 
by  accompanying  the  remains  from  the  late  residence  of  the 


I20   BETWEEN   THE  ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

deceased,  Calle  Mercedes  No.  150,  to  the  general  cemetery  at 
4  p.  m.  on  the  28th  day  of  July  coming.  This  attention  will 
be  gratefully  received  by  his  heart-broken  widow  and  his 
bereaved  family.  * ' 

Another  notice  in  the  same  column  includes  political  friends 
and  supporters  among  those  in  whose  name  the  invitation  is 
issued. 

These  notices  have  been  preceded  by  formal  announcements 
of  death,  and,  simultaneously  with  their  publication,  it  is  cus- 
tomary to  send  cards  heavily  bordered  with  black  lines  in  a 
corresponding  envelope  by  the  hands  of  a  servant  dressed  in 
deepest  mourning  to  the  residences  of  friends.  These  private 
announcements  bear  a  heavy  black  cross  instead  of  a  crest  or 
other  appropriate  insignia.  Upon  the  receipt  of  such  an  invi- 
tation, etiquette  requires  that  the  person  to  whom  it  is 
addressed  should  pay  a  visit  of  condolence  before  the  funeral. 
He  will  be  received  in  a  darkened  parlor  by  one  of  the  rela- 
tives, a  son  or  a  brother  or  a  nephew,  to  whom  he  will  express 
his  sympathy  and  of  whom  he  will  inquire  after  the  health  and 
the  welfare  of  the  remainder  of  the  family.  The  funeral  is  not 
attended  by  women,  but  the  gentlemen  friends  of  the  family 
will  appear  in  black  garments,  black  gloves,  silk  hats  and 
either  black  or  white  neckties — both  are  en  regie. 

They  will  find  the  coffin  in  the  principal  parlor  covered  with 
offerings  of  natural,  artificial  and  metallic  flowers.  Wreaths 
made  of  tin  are  much  favored.  They  are  painted  green  or  in 
imitation  of  dead  leaves,  and  are,  of  course,  imperishable.  An 
altar  with  crucifix,  candles  and  other  paraphernalia  for  the 
service  stands  at  one  side  of  the  room,  but  it  is  customary  to 
have  mass  said  in  private  in  the  presence  of  the  widow  and 
members  of  the  family  before  the  arrival  of  the  invited  guests. 
Each  person  leaves  his  card  upon  a  tray  which  stands  near  the 
entrance  or  is  held  by  a  footman  for  that  purpose.  At  the 
hour  appointed  the  coffin  is  removed  to  an  elaborate  hearse,  or 
catafalque,  which  is  itself  a  monument  of  mourning,  drawn  by 
four  and  sometimes  by  six  horses  wearing  heavy  black  nets  or 
blankets  of  black  velvet  that  reach  almost  to  the  ground  and 
long  streamers  of  crape  attached  to  the  bridles  and  other  per* 


THE   CITY   OF  THE  THREE   KINGS  121 

tions  of  their  harness.  The  top  of  the  hearse  is  ornamented 
with  long  black  plumes,  while  the  wheels  are  concealed  by  a 
deep  braided  fringe.  The  driver  and  the  footmen  who  attend 
the  hearse  are  in  black  livery,  and  all  the  attendants  of  the 
undertaker  are  dressed  in  a  similar  manner. 

At  the  cemetery  it  is  customary  for  one  of  the  friends  to 
read  a  brief  address  of  a  biographical  nature  and  pronounce  a 
eulogy  upon  the  virtues  of  the  deceased.  A  copy  of  the  man- 
uscript is  furnished  to  the  family  and  another  is  sometimes 
placed  inside  the  coffin  in  order  that  if  the  remains  are  ever 
disturbed  it  may  be  known  that  the  dead  was  eminent  for 
piety  and  faithful  in  friendship.  Before  the  coffin  is  intrusted 
to  the  tomb  the  priest  sprinkles  it  with  holy  water  and  reads 
the  concluding  words  of  the  service. 

After  the  ceremonies  are  concluded  the  eldest  son  or  the 
nearest  relative  of  the  deceased  stands  at  the  gate  of  the  cem- 
etery and  shakes  hands  with  all  the  gentlemen  present, 
expressing  in  appropriate  terms  the  thanks  of  the  family  and 
in  return  receiving  their  condolences. 

Before  the  close  of  the  year  of  mourning  a  requiem  mass  is 
celebrated  at  the  church  which  the  family  are  in  the  habit  of 
attending.  A  formal  announcement  is  made  in  the  newspa- 
pers, and  cards  of  invitation  are  sent  to  friends  and  acquaint- 
ances similar  to  those  issued  at  the  time  of  the  funeral.  One 
morning,  I  attended  a  requiem  mass  celebrated  for  the 
Hon.  Dr.  Fidel  Rodriguez  Ramirez,  a  member  of  the  chamber 
of  deputies  from  the  city  of  Caraz,  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
republic.  As  the  expenses  were  paid  by  the  government  the 
ceremonies  were  of  a  more  elaborate  character  than  usual.  A 
regiment  of  soldiers  was  drawn  up  in  line  upon  the  streets 
approaching  the  church,  the  members  of  the  cabinet,  the 
private  secretary  of  the  president  and  several  aids-de-camp 
represented  the  chief  magistrate  of  the  nation,  who  would 
have  been  present  personally  if  the  dead  man  had  been  a  sen- 
ator instead  of  a  deputy.  A  requiem  mass  was  sung  by  the 
regular  choir,  re-enforced  by  the  members  of  an  opera  com- 
pany now  under  engagement  here,  and  an  orchestra  of  stringed 
instruments.      The  church  was  darkened  by  hanging  black 


122    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

cloth  before  all  the  windows,  and  the  only  light  came  from  the 
candles  on  the  altar.  The  members  of  the  senate  and  the 
house  of  representatives  appeared  in  what  we  call  evening- 
dress,  although  the  ceremony  was  at  9 :  30  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, wearing  swallow-tail  coats,  low-cut  waist  coats  and  white 
ties,  but  black  gloves.  A  large  number  of  other  gentlemen 
were  present  in  official  uniforms  or  black  frock  suits. 

Similar  arrangements  are  made  for  the  requiem  masses 
sung  for  the  benefit  of  private  individuals. 

I  know  of  no  country  where  the  minds  of  the  people  are  so 
much  engaged  with  their  religious  duties  that  the  church  bells 
are  always  ringing  and  processions  of  women  draped  in  black 
mantas  are  continually  passing  to  and  from  the  church  doors. 
There  are  seventy-six  churches  in  Lima— one  for  an  average 
of  about  1,200  people. 

Archbishop  Tovar,  who  was  elected  to  that  diocese  in  1899, 
is  a  young  man  of  modem  ideas  and  progressive  tendencies, 
and  with  the  advice  and  support  of  the  papal  nuncio  he  is 
endeavoring  to  abolish  some  of  the  most  absurd  of  the  ancient 
religious  customs  which  are  still  observed  here.  He  has  for- 
bidden the  celebration  of  the  feast  of  St.  Peter,  which  was 
formerly  held  on  June  29  with  extraordinary  proceedings. 

Until  1899  the  fishermen  of  Chorillos  and  other  towns  along 
the  coast  were  in  the  habit  of  taking  an  image  of  St.  Peter, 
who  is  the  patron  saint  of  fishermen,  from  the  altar  of  his 
church  and  parading  it  through  the  streets  with  bands  of 
music,  processions  of  priests,  military  and  fire  companies, 
civil,  social  and  charitable  organizations,  to  the  landing  place 
at  the  foot  of  the  bluff,  and  there  transferring  it  to  a  hand- 
somely decorated  fishing  boat.  The  priest  in  charge  of  the 
ceremony,  the  grand  marshal  of  the  procession  and  a  com- 
mittee of  citizens  got  into  the  boat,  which  was  then  rowed 
around  the  bay  while  the  priests  sprinkled  holy  water  upon  the 
surface  of  the  water.  Having  arrived  at  a  certain  place  a  hook 
and  line  were  thrown  overboard  and  the  end  placed  in  the  hand 
of  the  image,  the  head  fisherman,  or  the  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee, holding  it  behind  the  saint's  back.  When  he  felt  a 
bite  the  line  was  drawn  up  through  St.  Peter's  hands,  and  the 


THE  CITY   OF  THE   THREE   KINGS  123 

fish  that  was  caught  was  accepted  as  indicating  the  character 
of  the  fishing  harvest  during  the  remainder  of  the  year — the 
larger  the  fish  the  better  luck  ahead  for  those  who  are  in  the 
trade  that  St.  Peter  followed. 

The  saint  was  then  rowed  back  to  the  shore,  the  procession 
was  re-formed,  and  marched  around  the  streets  of  the  city  to 
the  church,  where  St.  Peter  was  restored  to  his  altar.  In 
1899,  as  I  have  said,  the  ceremony  was  forbidden  throughout 
the  entire  republic  of  Peru  by  the  archbishop,  because  he 
believes  that  such  celebrations  are  injurious  to  the  morals  as 
well  as  a  reflection  upon  the  intelligence  of  his  parishioners, 
many  of  whom  actually  believed  that  few  fish  would  be  caught 
that  season  because  the  waters  were  not  blessed  by  St.  Peter 
as  usual. 

Another  reform  inaugurated  by  Archbishop  Tovar  has  been 
the  suppression  of  street  processions.  It  has  been  customary 
in  years  past,  and  as  long  as  any  one  can  remember,  for  **the 
saints  to  go  visiting, ' '  to  use  the  familiar  phrase  of  the  com- 
mon people.  On  the  anniversary  of  St.  Dominic,  for  example, 
the  monks  and  priests  belonging  to  the  order  he  founded  were 
accustomed  to  take  his  image  from  the  altar  and  form  a  pro- 
cession of  military  companies,  benevolent  and  religious  socie- 
ties, and  with  music  and  banners  march  around  the  city 
visiting  various  other  churches,  whose  priests,  having  been 
notified  in  advance,  would  be  ready  to  receive  the  saint,  escort 
him  to  the  altar  and  celebrate  a  special  mass  in  his  honor, 
while  his  followers  occupied  front  seats  in  the  sanctuary. 

These  processions  occurred  two  or  three  times  in  a  month, 
and  were  advocated  and  defended  by  the  priests  on  the  theory 
that  they  excited  the  attention  and  the  interest  of  the  people 
in  religious  affairs.  But  the  archbishop  has  forbidden  them, 
with  the  exception  of  two  or  three,  which  have  been  permitted 
until  now,  but  I  am  told  will  not  be  allowed  again.  The  arch- 
bishop has  thought  it  prudent  and  politic  not  to  abolish  every- 
thing of  the  kind  at  once,  but  to  do  so  gradually. 

The  most  peculiar  of  these  ceremonies,  however,  took  place 
as  usual  in  1899.  On  a  certain  feast  day  the  monks  of  the  San 
Francisco  monastery  took  the  image  of  their  saint  and  founder 


124   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND  THE   OCEAN 

from  the  altar  of  the  great  church,  and  the  Dominican  monks 
did  the  same  with  the  effigy  of  their  founder.  Two  proces- 
sions were  formed  with  brass  bands,  military  companies  and 
civil  organizations  as  usual,  and  after  parading  through  the 
principal  streets  they  met  in  the  main  plaza  in  front  of  the 
cathedral,  where  the  two  saints  exchanged  greetings  and 
addresses  were  delivered  in  their  behalf  by  representatives  of 
the  respective  monastic  orders. 

Formerly  the  archbishop  appeared  on  this  occasion  in  his 
richest  ecclesiastical  robes  and  conferred  his  blessing  upon  the 
assembled  crowds,  which  were  composed  of  the  most  intelli- 
gent and  highly  educated  people  of  the  city.  But  that  class  no 
longer  recognizes  the  ceremony,  and  Archbishop  Tovar  ignored 
it.  He  intends  to  prohibit  it  entirely,  and  his  policy  will  be 
to  gradually  eliminate  from  the  diocese  under  his  jurisdiction 
all  these  antiquated  and  absurd  customs  and  reorganize  the 
church  in  Peru  upon  the  North  American  plan.  This,  how- 
ever, is  going  to  be  a  difficult  task  for  the  ambitious  and  pro- 
gressive young  man,  because  the  ignorant  classes  are  devoutly 
attached  to  what  appear  preposterous  mummeries  to  the  edu- 
cated portion  of  the  community. 

In  all  parts  of  South  America  wooden  crosses  are  still 
erected  on  the  outskirts  of  the  towns  and  villages  to  frighten 
away  evil  spirits.  They  are  also  erected  along  the  highway 
where  people  have  met  with  death  by  violence  or  accident,  and 
pious  travelers  are  expected  to  say  a  prayer  for  the  repose  of 
the  dead  as  they  pass. 

You  often  see  small  effigies  of  the  Virgin  or  the  saints 
placed  in  niches  in  the  walls  or  residences  both  in  the  city  and 
the  country.  These  represent  vows  made  by  the  owner  or  the 
people  of  the  household  when  they  were  ill  or  in  trouble. 

Persons  who  are  very  religious  are  called  "fanaticos"  and 
**beatas."  The  latter  term  is  used  especially  to  describe  a 
woman  who  has  made  a  vow  to  her  patron  saint  or  to  the  Holy 
Virgin  to  deprive  herself  of  some  luxury  or  comfort,  or  per- 
form some  religious  duty  either  voluntarily  or  as  a  penance 
for  sin.  For  instance,  a  servant  who  once  attended  to  our 
rooms  had  made  a  vow  never  to  wear  shoes,  and  is  going 


THE  CITY  OF  THE   THREE   KINGS  125 

barefooted  the  rest  of  her  life.  For  that  reason  she  is  known 
as  a  *'beata.'" 

Servants  usually  go  in  droves,  and  when  you  hire  a  butler 
or  major-domo,  or  master  of  the  household,  he  becomes  a  sort 
of  general  manager  of  the  entire  establishment.  He  hires  and 
dismisses  the  cook,  the  chambermaids  and  other  servants,  and 
is  responsible  for  their  good  behavior.  Many  families  board 
with  their  major-domo,  and  arrange  with  him  to  maintain  the 
household,  provide  the  food,  fuel,  and  the  servants,  and  every- 
thing else  except  the  fixed  charges  for  rent,  water  rates,  gas 
bills,  wine  and  similar  outside  luxuries  at  a  given  rate  per 
month.  This  is  not  only  a  measure  of  convenience  but  of 
economy,  and  people  are  thus  protected  against  dishonesty  and 
extravagance  in  their  kitchens  and  pantries.  A  cook  usually 
feels  at  liberty  to  bring  her  husband  and  all  her  children  to 
the  house  where  she  is  employed,  and  lodges  and  feeds  them 
at  the  expense  of  her  employer.  The  husband  may  work 
elsewhere,  but  he  sleeps  and  takes  his  meals  wherever  his  wife 
lives. 

Each  detachment  of  the  army  of  Peru  is  accompanied  by 
women  called  "rabonas,"  who  are  the  temporary  wives  of  the 
soldiers  without  the  intervention  of  the  priests.  They  carry 
the  camp  equipage  and  cooking  utensils,  cook  the  food  and 
wash  the  garments  of  the  soldiers,  attend  the  sick  and  the 
wounded,  and  are  said  to  be  remarkably  skillful  in  making 
concoctions  of  herbs  for  malarial  fevers  and  other  diseases 
which  prevail  in  the  army.  During  a  battle  they  plunder  the 
dead  of  the  enemy  as  well  as  take  charge  of  the  wounded  of 
the  command  to  which  they  belong.  They  receive  no  pay, 
but  rations  and  transportation  are  furnished  them  by  the  gov- 
ernment. 

Among  other  of  the  curious  customs  fti  Peru  which  one 
learns  by  experience  is  that  the  hackmen  charge  double  price 
if  the  top  of  the  carriage  is  let  down.  It  is  the  same  carriage, 
the  same  pair  of  horses  and  the  same  coachman,  the  same  dis- 
tance and  the  same  time ;  but  if  you  fancy  riding  with  the  top 
down  so  that  you  can  see  things  you  will  have  to  pay  2  sols  an 
hour,  or  60  cents  a  mile.    Whereas  if  you  are  willing  to  take 


126   BETWEEN  THE   ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

things  as  you  find  them  and  have  the  carriage  closed  the  price 
is  only  i  sol  an  hour,  or  30  cents  a  mile.  Santiago  Flores, 
whose  name  translated  into  English  means  James  Flower,  an 
estimable  citizen  of  the  United  States,  of  African  descent,  who 
secures  the  patronage  of  most  Americans  that  come  here, 
explained  that  the  difference  in  the  charge  was  due  to  the  fact 
that  people  **get  more  benefit"  riding  in  an  open  carriage 
than  in  one  that  is  closed,  and  ought  to  pay  accordingly. 


IX 

PERU  IN  PEACE  AND  PROSPERITY 

Peru  has  had  several  years  of  peace,  and  shows  the  effects 
very  plainly  in  an  improved  commerce,  an  enlarged  business, 
the  development  of  new  industries,  the  introduction  of  many 
enterprises  that  promise  prosperity,  and  in  the  general  appear- 
ance and  contentment  of  the  people.  This  indicates  what 
might  happen  in  that  land  of  marvelous  riches  if  peace  could 
only  be  permanent.  The  frequent  revolutions  in  the  past  have 
kept  out  capital,  have  reduced  the  laboring  population  by 
death  faster  than  they  were  born,  and  has  caused  a  distrust 
that  has  made  business  of  all  kinds  unprofitable.  During  the 
eighty  years  since  Peru  achieved  her  independence,  she  has 
had  more  presidents  than  there  were  viceroys  and  governors 
throughout  the  whole  colonial  period,  and  it  is  asserted  that 
only  two  of  them  were  legally  elected.  General  Pierola,  whose 
authority  expired  on  the  eighth  of  September,  1899,  is  one  of 
the  few  presidents  who  was  allowed  to  serve  out  his  term  of 
four  years.  He  had  been  dictator  on  several  occasions,  and 
was  an  habitual  revolutionist  for  twenty  years,  until  after  a 
civil  war  that  disturbed  the  country  for  nearly  two  years,  he 
finally  realized  his  ambition  and  became  the  chief  magistrate 
of  his  country.  Pireola  made  an  excellent  president,  as  every- 
body testifies.  He  surprised  his  enemies  and  disappointed  his 
friends  because  he  did  not  allow  his  supporters  to  enrich  them- 
selves through  the  public  revenue  or  by  official  influences  and 
favors,  which  made  his  administration  unique.  Until  his  suc- 
cessor took  charge  of  the  government  and  found  an  empty 
treasury  it  was  supposed  that  Pierola  was  honest,  but  an 
explanation  of  the  disappearance  of  a  trust  fund  and  the  antici- 
pation of  the  customs  receipts  for  three  months  is  still  neces- 
sary to  clear  his  record. 

It  is  also  admitted  by  his  severest  critics  that  if  he  had 

127 


128    BETWEEN   THE  ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

kept  his  hands  off  the  election  machinery  when  his  successor 
was  chosen  his  administration  would  have  stood  as  an  exam- 
ple for  future  good  presidents  to  imitate.  But  through  the 
advice  of  unwise  friends  he  allowed  himself  to  abolish  the 
highest  electoral  tribunal  or  returning  board  which  the  sta- 
tutes provide  for  the  protection  of  the  polls  and  to  review  the 
returns  from  the  several  provinces. 

This  board  is  composed  of  nine  members,  and  is  known  as 
the  Junta  Nacional  Electoral.  The  president  appoints  one 
member,  the  senate  two,  and  the  house  two,  representing 
opposing  political  parties,  and  the  judges  of  the  superior  courts 
four.  In  this  board  as  appointed  to  review  the  returns  of  the 
last  presidential  election,  the  supporters  of  the  government 
candidate,  SeSor  Romana,  were  in  a  minority.  A  quarrel 
occurred  among  them.  Some  people  assert  that  it  was  inten- 
tional in  order  to  give  the  president  a  pretext  to  abolish  the 
tribunal,  and  the  returns  of  the  provincial  ofi&cials  were 
declared  final  by  an  arbitrary  decree. 

That  was  a  serious  mistake,  for  it  not  only  established  a 
bad  precedent  and  injured  the  reputation  of  the  president  for 
honesty  and  fairness,  but  gave  the  opposing  party  and  the 
malcontents  throughout  the  country  an  excuse  to  question  the 
legality  of  Romana' s  title. 

The  defeated  candidate,  Senor  Billinghurst,  is  the  son  of  an 
Englishman  by  a  Peruvian  mother,  a  man  of  great  wealth 
invested  in  nitrate  mines  and  other  profitable  industries.  He 
was  first  vice  president  of  Peru  under  Pierola.  He  was  the 
principal  financial  backer  of  the  revolution  which  brought 
Pierola  into  power,  and  is  believed  to  have  advanced  that 
leader  eighty  or  ninety  thousand  dollars  to  pay  his  personal 
expenses.  He  expected  to  succeed  to  the  presidency,  and  was 
bitterly  disappointed  when  Pierola  brought  out  Eduardo 
Romana  as  a  candidate.  There  were  frequent  rumors  that 
Billinghurst  would  use  violence  to  prevent  the  inauguration  of 
his  rival,  and  it  was  generally  believed  that  he  inspired  several 
harmless  insurrections  that  took  place  in  different  parts  of  the 
country,  but  he  denied  all  responsibility  for  them,  and  says 
that  he  has  foresworn  politics  forever. 


Eduardo  Lopez  de  Romano,  President  of  Peru. 


PERU   IN   PEACE  AND   PROSPERITY  129 

Pierola  was  educated  for  the  priesthood  in  a  Lima  **sem- 
inario"  or  theological  school  not  far  from  the  old  palace  of 
Pizarro,  but  before  taking-  orders  he  spent  several  years  in 
France  and  became  a  soldier.  While  he  has  not  shown  open 
hostility  to  the  United  States,  Pierola  cannot  forget  that  our 
government  refused  to  recognize  him  in  188 1  when  he  declared 
himself  dictator  and  assumed  the  presidency  of  Peru.  The 
Garfield  administration  recognized  the  authority  of  President 
Calderon,  a  rival,  at  that  time,  and  did  what  it  could  to  sustain 
him  in  power.  During  the  war  with  Spain  El  Tiempo,  a  news- 
paper of  Lima,  which  is  owned  by  Pierola  and  is  regarded 
as  the  organ  of  his  political  party,  continually  expressed  a  par- 
tisanship for  the  Spaniards,  and  has  been  quite  severe  in  its 
criticisms  of  the  policy  of  the  United  States.  It  has  also  shown 
a  spirit  of  hostility  toward  American  interests,  and  while 
Pierola  himself  has  always  professed  a  friendly  disposition  he 
could  have  changed  the  tone  of  his  newspaper  merely  by  a  nod. 

There  are  three  political  parties  in  Peru,  the  democratic 
party,  of  which  Pierola  is  the  chief,  and  which  assumes  to  be 
the  friend  of  the  common  people ;  the  civilista,  of  which  Man- 
uel Candamo,  a  rich  merchant,  is  the  leader,  whose  platform 
opposes  the  domination  of  the  military  element  in  the  gov- 
ernment, and  the  constitutional  party,  of  which  Gen.  Caceras, 
recently  president  and  now  an  exile,  is  the  head.  The  latter 
party,  however,  is  practically  dissolved. 

There  is  very  little  difference  in  the  three  parties  in  respect 
to  principles,  except  perhaps  in  the  civilista  faction.  Most  of 
the  presidents  of  Peru  have  been  soldiers  and  have  gained 
power  by  the  support  of  the  army.  They  have  been  prac- 
tically military  dictators,  and  out  of  the  opposition  to  this  cus- 
tom the  civilista  party  has  grown.  It  demands  an  entire 
separation  of  military  and  political  affairs.  It  insists  that  the 
army  shall  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  elections,  and  that  its 
officers  shall  stick  to  their  duties  and  not  seek  civil  appoint- 
ments. Its  principal  supporters  are  found  among  the  mercan- 
tile and  professional  classes.  Its  leader,  Mr.  Candamo,  is  in 
many  respects  the  most  influential  man  in  Peru.  He  is  presi- 
dent of  the  senate,  and  exercises  great  power  in  congress. 


ISO   BETWEEN   THE  ANDES  AND  THE   OCEAN 

He  is  president  of  the  chamber  of  commerce,  and  equally 
prominent  in  commercial  affairs.  He  is  also  interested  in 
manufacturing  enterprises,  in  banking  and  in  the  foreign 
trade.  He  might  have  been  president  several  times,  and  was 
proposed  as  a  candidate  in  the  place  of  Roman  a  at  the  last 
election,  but  persistently  declined  on  the  plea  that  his  large 
private  interests  require  his  attention.  At  the  last  election  in 
1899  both  the  democrats  and  the  civilistas  supported  Romana, 
and  without  Mr.  Candamo's  assistance  he  would  not  have  been 
elected. 

There  is  also  a  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  effect  of 
national  prosperity  upon  revolutionary  movements.  Some 
people  argue  that  the  increase  of  wealth  and  industrial  activity 
will  furnish  the  sinews  of  war  to  the  discontented,  and  enable 
them  to  raise  armies  to  overthrow  the  existing  power.  But 
wiser  men  take  the  ground  that  prosperity  always  breeds  con- 
tentment, and  that  when  men  are  busy  making  money  and  the 
working  classes  are  earning  good  wages  they  take  less  interest 
in  politics  and  are  more  reluctant  to  create  disturbances. 
Peru  has  not  been  so  prosperous  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  as 
now,  and  if  the  period  of  peace  which  has  continued  for  four 
years  can  be  prolonged  there  is  a  promise  that  the  abundant 
natural  wealth  of  the  country  may  be  utilized  and  permanent 
peace  preserved. 

Arequipa  is  the  home  and  the  birthplace  of  Senor  Don 
Eduardo  Lopez  de  Ramona,  the  president  of  Peru,  and  the 
second  civilian  who  has  been  elevated  to  that  ofi&ce.  The 
other  was  Manuel  Pardo,  who  is  known  in  history  as  "the 
civil  president, ' '  and  the  founder  of  the  civilista  party.  Voting 
is  done  on  Sunday.  The  polls  are  in  charge  of  the  troops 
whose  officers  act  as  judges  of  election.  At  the  palace  of  the 
president  in  Lima  there  was  always  a  military  guard,  and  he  was 
followed  wherever  he  went  by  a  staff  of  aids  who  wore  hand- 
some uniforms  and  made  an  imposing  display.  Whoever  had 
command  of  the  army,  therefore,  controlled  the  policy  of  the 
country,  as  well  as  the  government 

Pardo  attempted  to  abolish  all  this  while  he  was  president 
and  maintain  civil  government.      He  employed  civilians  in 


PERU   IN   PEACE   AND   PROSPERITY  131 

every  capacity.  He  dismissed  the  military  guards  around  his 
office  and  the  other  headquarters  of  the  government,  and 
never  accepted  a  military  escort.  But  the  supremacy  of  the 
civil  party  was  of  brief  existence,  for  Pardo  was  assassinated 
by  a  soldier  in  1878,  while  he  was  entering  the  senate  cham- 
ber. As  Pardo  entered  the  door  the  sergeant  of  the  guard 
raised  a  musket  and  shot  him  through  the  back.  He  fell  dead 
in  the  corridor.  The  sergeant  was  arrested,  and  although  he 
boasted  that  he  committed  the  deed  in  personal  revenge  for 
some  fancied  injury  it  was  generally  believed  that  he  was  the 
tool  of  a  political  conspiracy,  but  after  a  long  and  searching 
investigation  no  evidence  was  disclosed,  and  the  sergeant 
alone  suffered,  being  executed  in  the  plaza. 

Pardo  was  the  best  president  Peru  ever  had.  It  was  dur- 
ing his  administration  that  the  country  made  its  greatest  prog- 
ress, and  if  he  had  been  spared,  the  war  with  Chile,  which 
brought  so  great  disaster,  might  have  been  averted.  His  suc- 
cessor, Prado,  who  provoked  that  conflict,  deserted  his  country, 
abandoned  his  responsibilities  and  fled  to  Paris  when  he  real- 
ized the  predicament  of  his  country,  and  that  gave  a  chance 
for  Pierola,  the  recent  executive,  to  assert  his  strong  char- 
acter and  apply  his  irresistible  energy  to  the  affairs  of  state. 

Romana  is  the  same  sort  of  a  president  that  Pardo  was.  He 
is  a  civil  engineer  by  profession,  and  takes  as  little  interest  in 
politics  as  in  military  affairs,  which  is  a  distinguishing  charac- 
teristic in  a  country  where  politics  has  absorbed  the  attention 
of  the  people  to  a  degree  that  has  been  seriously  detrimental 
to  its  commercial  and  material  interests.  But  what  distin- 
guishes Romana  more  than  anything  else  is  that  he  was  not  a 
candidate  for  the  presidency  and  did  not  seek  the  office — a  fact 
absolutely  unique  in  the  history  of  the  South  American  repub- 
lics.    I  do  not  recall  another  instance. 

Romana  springs  from  an  old  Basque  family  of  Spain,  and 
his  ancestors  came  to  Peru  from  the  province  of  Biscay  about 
the  middle  of  the  last  century.  The  Basques  are  the  proudest 
and  they  claim  to  be  the  purest  race  in  the  world.  They  declare 
that  they  are  descended  direct  from  Adam  through  Tubal 
Cain;  that  they  escaped  the  flood  by  early  emigration  from 


132    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

Syria  to  the  north  of  Spain,  and  that  they  speak  the  same  lan- 
guage that  was  spoken  in  Eden.  They  are,  no  doubt,  the 
most  vigorous  of  all  the  Spanish  races,  both  mentally  and 
intellectually,  and  their  descendants  have  been  the  most  pro- 
gressive and  prosperous  in  the  new  world. 

Romana's  family  always  have  been  planters  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Arequipa.  They  have  large  sugar  estates  at 
Tambo,  down  on  the  seacoast  near  Mollendo,  and  extensive 
sheep  and  cattle  ranches  in  the  mountains  west  of  this  city. 
They  are  rich,  aristocratic  and  highly  educated.  At  present 
the  family  consists  of  two  brothers  and  two  sisters.  One  of 
the  brothers,  who  recently  died,  Don  Juan  de  Romana,  was  a 
famous  scientist.  He  was  instrumental  in  securing  the  loca- 
tion of  the  Harvard  observatory  at  Arequipa,  and  was  an 
intimate  friend  of  the  astronomers.  Alejandro,  the  second,  is 
an  active  politician,  has  occupied  a  seat  in  the  senate,  has 
been  a  member  of  the  cabinet,  governor  of  the  province  of 
Arequipa,  and  has  held  other  eminent  and  influential  offices. 
It  was  he  who  opposed  the  civil  marriage  law  so  bitterly,  and 
resigned  from  the  cabinet  because  Pierola  declined  to  veto  it 
a  second  time.  He  is  now  a  member  of  the  senate  from 
Arequipa.     Eduardo,  the  president,  is  more  liberal  in  his  views. 

All  three  of  the  Romana  brothers  were  educated  in  Stony- 
hurst,  the  Jesuit  college  of  England.  Eduardo  was  bom  in 
1847,  and  entered  there  a  mere  lad  in  1859,  where  he  took 
prizes  for  superiority  in  Greek  and  for  good  conduct.  In  1868, 
he  entered  Kings  College  of  London  University,  and  spent 
three  years  in  the  study  of  engineering.  Upon  his  graduation 
he  was  employed  for  several  years  in  the  office  of  the  North- 
em  State  railways  of  India,  and  afterward  as  inspector  of 
bridges  at  Silvertown,  and  in  railway  construction,  with  his 
headquarters  at  Whitby.  He  was  then  sent  to  Brazil  as  a 
divisional  engineer  by  the  Public  Works  Construction  Com- 
pany, and  was  engaged  for  two  years  in  surveying  a  line  for  a 
railroad  around  the  cascades  in  the  upper  Amazon  under  the 
direction  of  George  Earl  Church.  Of  the  thirty-three  foreign 
engineers  employed  on  that  work  all  but  nine  died  from  the 
effects  of  the  climate. 


PERU   IN   PEACE  AND   PROSPERITY  133 

Returning  to  England  Mr.  Romana  was  received  as  an 
associate  of  the  Institute  of  Civil  Engineers,  which  admits 
very  few  foreigners,  and  he  is  the  only  Peruvian  who  ever 
received  that  honor.  After  traveling  through  Europe  to 
inspect  various  engineering  works  he  was  called  home  to 
Arequipa  on  account  of  the  death  of  his  father,  to  take  charge 
of  the  family  estate,  which  occupied  him  until  the  war  with 
Chile  in  1881,  when  he  volunteered  and  served  as  comman- 
dante  at  Mollendo. 

After  the  war  Mr.  Romana  returned  to  the  family  residence 
in  Arequipa,  and  has  since  been  occupying  his  time  in  the 
construction  of  public  works,  for  which  he  has  accepted  no 
compensation.  He  built  the  gas  works,  the  water  works,  a 
large  bridge  and  several  public  buildings  for  the  municipality, 
the  provincial  government  and  the  church,  and  superintended 
the  establishment  of  the  electric  light  plant  in  Arequipa. 
Everything  in  the  way  of  modem  improvements  there  can  be 
attributed  to  his  enterprise  and  engineering  skill,  but  it  was 
all  done  from  patriotic  motives.  He  has  consistently  declined 
to  accept  office  or  remuneration. 

In  1895,  after  Caceras  was  overthrown.  General  Pierola 
appealed  to  the  Romana  brothers  to  assist  him  in  the  redemp- 
tion of  the  country,  and  from  patriotic  motives  Eduardo  con- 
sented to  accept  a  nomination  for  congress,  where  he  served 
one  year  and  was  elected  vice-president  of  the  chamber  of 
deputies.  Since  then  unsought  honors  have  been  rapidly 
thrust  upon  him.  During  his  second  year  in  politics  he  was 
appointed  minister  of  public  works  in  the  cabinet  of  President 
Pierola.  The  third  year  he  was  elected  to  the  senate,  and  the 
fourth  year  he  was  made  president. 

**I  have  never  sought  an  office,"  said  Seiior  Romana,  one 
day  while  we  were  discussing  political  affairs  in  Peru.  *'I 
entered  politics  very  reluctantly,  and  entirely  from  a  sense  of 
duty,  and  I  have  endeavored  to  serve  my  country  without 
ambition  or  the  hope  of  reward.  I  much  prefer  a  quiet  life 
with  my  books  and  estates  and  the  limited  professional  engage- 
ments that  have  heretofore  occupied  a  portion  of  my  time,  but 
I  am  opposed  to  military  rule,  and  when  I  was  appealed  to  as 


134   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

a  civilian  to  become  a  candidate  for  the  presidency  I  consented 
more  from  the  fear  that  some  soldier  might  be  selected  if  I 
declined  than  from  any  other  reason. 

"I  am  free  to  have  my  way,  more  free  than  any  other  presi- 
dent we  have  ever  had,  because  of  the  manner  in  which  I  came 
into  the  office.  I  had  no  obligations  to  pay,  no  pledges  to 
fulfill,  no  friends  to  reward,  no  enemies  to  punish.  My  hands 
are  entirely  free  to  do  whatever  I  see  is  for  the  welfare  of  my 
country,  and  I  do  not  belong  to  any  political  organization, 
although  my  sympathies  are  with  the  democratic  element. 

"We  would  like  the  United  States  to  give  us  a  little  more 
attention,"  said  SeSor  Romana.  **We  want  more  intimate 
relations  commercially  and  socially.  We  should  have  direct 
communication  by  steamship  between  the  two  countries  so  that 
commerce  could  follow  its  natural  lines.  I  understand  that 
the  British  and  Chilean  steamship  companies  on  the  west 
coast  are  going  to  send  their  vessels,  which  now  stop  at  Pan- 
ama, as  far  as  San  Francisco,  which  will  give  us  direct  com- 
munication with  at  least  one  of  your  ports,  but  it  seems  a  pity 
that  our  transportation  facilities  should  be  left  in  the  hands  of 
foreigners.  We  are  very  fond  of  the  United  States  down 
here,"  he  continued.  "I  am  a  great  admirer  of  the  enter- 
prise of  your  people  and  the  liberality  of  your  institutions,  and 
want  to  be  in  closer  touch  with  them. ' ' 

"Would  you  favor  a  reciprocity  treaty?"  I  asked. 

"Yes,  I  think  it  would  be  a  good  thing  for  both  countries  if 
a  reciprocity  treaty  were  negotiated  as  soon  as  our  commerce 
will  justify  it.  We  cannot  afford  to  spare  any  revenues  at 
present,  however.  We  require  for  the  necessities  of  our  gov- 
ernment every  dollar  that  we  can  collect  in  our  custom  houses, 
but  I  am  disposed  to  think  that  a  reciprocity  treaty  wisely 
drawn  would  increase  instead  of  diminish  our  income,  and 
at  the  same  time  encourage  our  industries  and  our  commerce." 
According  to  the  custom  in  this  part  of  the  world,  Mr. 
Romana  has  a  large  family — nine  children — four  sons  and  five 
daughters,  the  eldest  of  whom  are  young  men  and  young 
women  of  high  ambitions  and  literary  culture.  At  Arequipa 
he  lives  in   an   old-fashioned   house,  where  his  family  have 


Pearl-Divers,  Pa^iama  Bay. 


UNIVERSITY 


Op 


CALIFO^^ 


PERU    IN   PEACE   AND    PROSPERITY  135 

resided  for  several  generations,  and  is  the  happy  possessor  of 
a  large  library,  including  an  admirable  collection  of  English 
and  American  works.  He  shows  with  pride  the  handsomely 
bound  volumes  that  were  won  by  him  as  prizes  when  he  was 
a  schoolboy.  Professor  Bailey,  who  is  director  of  the  Har- 
vard observatory  there,  is  one  of  Mr.  Romana's  most  intimate 
friends.  They  have  known  each  other  intimately  for  several 
years,  and  Mr.  Bailey  has  the  highest  admiration  for  him. 

The  legality  of  Senor  Romana's  election  was  questioned  in 
the  Peruvian  congress  on  the  ground  that  President  Pierola 
abolished  the  High  Court  of  Review,  and  that  the  returns 
were  therefore  irregular.  Out  of  a  population  of  more  than 
2,000,000  inhabitants  but  58,285  votes  were  cast,  of  which 
Romana  received  55,908,  regardless  of  the  returning  board. 
The  votes  he  did  not  receive  were  scattered  among  a  number 
of  candidates,  the  opposition  not  being  able  to  concentrate 
upon  any  one.  There  was  no  doubt  of  his  election,  but  Presi- 
dent Pierola's  arbitrary  action  gave  the  minority  an  oppor- 
tunity to  enter  a  protest,  and  there  was  a  long  and  excited 
discussion  in  congress,  during  which  Mr.  Romana  maintained  a 
dignified  serenity  and  indifference. 

President  Romana  took  his  seat  in  the  gloomy  old  Palace 
Pizarro  under  the  most  embarrassing  but  at  the  same  time  the 
most  hopeful  circumstances.  He  was  received  with  compar- 
atively little  enthusiasm  because  he  was  practically  an  unknown 
man  and  had  never  sought  personal  popularity.  He  was  a 
comparative  stranger  to  the  politicians  of  Peru,  who  did  not 
know  whether  it  was  for  their  interest  to  shout  for  or  against 
him.  He  had  no  clique,  no  political  clubs,  and  no  organiza- 
tion behind  him.  His  inaugural  address,  however,  created  a 
distinct  and  favorable  impression  both  upon  congress  and  the 
public,  for  it  displayed  a  modest  candor  that  people  were  not 
accustomed  to. 

He  offered  amnesty  to  all  political  offenders  who  would 
pledge  themselves  to  keep  the  peace,  obey  the  laws  and 
respect  the  authority  of  the  government,  and  invited  all  exiles 
to  return  to  their  homes  and  assist  him  in  an  honest  effort  to 
serve  the  general  welfare.     Immediately  after  his  inaugura- 


136    BETWEEN  THE   ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

tion  he  made  his  words  good  by  sending  a  mutual  friend  to 
offer  an  olive  branch  to  General  Caceres,  the  former  presi- 
dent, who  was  overthrown  by  Pierola  and  was  an  exile  at  the 
city  of  Tacna.  General  Caceres,  having  been  deprived  of 
power  by  a  revolution  was  supposed  to  be  plotting  to  secure 
his  restoration  by  similar  means.  When  he  fled  from  Lima 
he  was  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  army.  After  his 
departure  and  in  his  absence  he  was  tried  by  court-martial  for 
treason  and  acquitted,  so  that  he  still  holds  the  highest  mili- 
tary rank  in  the  republic  and  has  never  forfeited  his  commis- 
sion. President  Romana  reminded  him  of  that  fact  and 
invited  him  to  return  to  Lima  and  resume  command  of  the 
army,  offering  him  the  full  power  of  his  rank  and  back  pay 
since  he  left  the  country.  This  was  not  only  generous,  but 
an  audacious  act  on  the  part  of  the  president,  which  can  only 
be  appreciated  by  people  familiar  with  the  character  and 
career  of  Caceres,  who  has  been  a  disturbing  element  in  the 
politics  of  the  country  for  more  than  twenty  years,  and  in  a 
state  of  continual  rebellion  except  during  such  times  as  he  has 
occupied  the  presidential  office.  To  place  him  in  command  of 
the  army  and  the  defenses  of  the  country  and  to  give  him 
control  of  all  the  munitions  of  war  seemed  sure  to  invite 
another  insurrection,  but  President  Romana  was  confident 
that  Caceres  would  respect  and  justify  the  trust  reposed  in 
him  if  he  were  invited  to  assume  his  legitimate  place  at  the 
head  of  the  army.  He  realized  that  there  was  a  great  risk, 
but  had  the  nerve  to  take  it. 

But  General  Caceres,  unaccustomed  to  such  candor  and 
generosity,  declined  to  accept  the  olive  branch  and  return  to 
Lima.  He  could  not  comprehend  the  motives  of  an  honorable 
man.  He  is  so  accustomed  to  conspiracy,  intrigue  and  duplic- 
ity that  he  suspected  a  trap  and  evidently  feared  that  he  would 
be  arrested  and  shot  as  soon  as  he  arrived  at  the  Capital. 
President  Romana,  however,  attempted  to  reassure  him  and 
induce  him  to  return,  and  at  least  made  a  favorable  impression 
upon  the  followers  of  Caceres  and  upon  the  public  generally, 
and  confirmed  his  promises  to  inaugurate  a  conciliatory 
policy.     Other  exiles  accepted  the  proclamation  of  amnesty 


PERU   IN   PEACE   AND   PROSPERITY  137 

and  returned  home.  At  the  same  time  the  new  president 
ordered  the  removal  and  punishment  of  several  officials  who 
had  long  been  feared  and  complained  of,  but  held  their  places 
because  of  some  political  pull  on  the  previous  administration. 

This  was  a  novelty  to  Peru,  where  the  governors  of  states 
and  petty  officials  have  been  pretty  sure  of  retention  as  long 
as  they  were  loyal  to  their  chief.  There  were  several  revolu- 
tionary movements  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  but  none 
of  them  assumed  serious  importance.  They  were  led  by 
disaffected  politicians  and  irresponsible  adventurers  for  the 
purpose  of  punishing  or  frightening  the  new  president.  They 
collected  a  company  of  followers,  found  arms  and  ammunition 
and  raided  around  the  country,  whooping  and  shooting,  steal- 
ing cattle  and  horses,  robbing  banks  and  haciendas,  and  issuing 
proclamations  calling  upon  the  poeple  to  rise  and  follow  them 
in  a  movement  to  overthrow  the  government. 

President  Romana  was  seriously  embarrassed  upon  assum- 
ing office  to  find  an  empty  treasury.  The  last  dollar  was 
drawn  out  before  the  close  of  business  on  the  day  preceding 
his  inauguration,  and  one  of  the  latest  checks  was  to  the  private 
secretary  of  President  Pierola.  Not  only  was  the  treasury 
empty,  but  warrants  were  issued  for  payments  that  would 
absorb  all  the  estimated  revenues  until  January  i  three  months 
in  advance,  leaving  the  new  administration  entirely  destitute 
during  that  period.  But  what  was  even  more  serious  was  the 
discovery  that  a  trust  fund  amounting  to  $800,000,  the  pro- 
ceeds of  a  tax  on  salt  which  was  authorized  for  the  purpose  of 
raising  money  to  pay  Chile  for  the  restoration  of  the  Tarapaca 
desert,  held  by  the  latter  government  since  the  war  of  188 1, 
had  been  drawn  out  and  used  for  some  purpose  unknown. 
The  minister  of  finance,  when  interrogated  on  the  subject  in 
the  chamber  of  deputies,  admitted  that  he  could  give  no 
explanation;  he  could  only  say  that  the  money  had  been  drawn 
out  by  order  of  the  president,  and  was  not  familiar  with  the 
details  of  its  disbursement.  The  matter  was  referred  to  a 
committee  of  inquiry,  which  did  not  do  anything.  The 
defenders  of  the  late  administration  were  quite  positive  that 
the  funds  were  used  to  construct  a  cart  road  to  reach  the  coffee 


138   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND  THE   OCEAN 

regions  and  mining  camps  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Andes ; 
others  explained  that  it  was  needed  for  putting  down  a  rebel- 
lion at  Iquitos,  in  the  Amazon  country,  but  as  there  has  been 
no  official  explanation  and  the  construction  of  such  a  cart  road 
as  described  is  not  known  to  the  public,  the  mystery  remains 
unsolved  and  the  people  are  allowed  to  draw  their  own  infer- 
ences. With  the  assistance  of  Mr,  Candamo,  president  of  the 
chamber  of  commerce,  and  Mr.  Aspillago,  president  of  the  Insti- 
tute Tecnico,  President  Romana  was  able  to  borrow  upon  his 
personal  credit  a  sufficient  sum  of  money  to  meet  the  emer- 
gency and  keep  the  wheels  in  motion  for  the  time  being;  but 
it  was  rather  a  novel  situation  for  the  new  president  to  be 
compelled  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the  government  out  of  his 
own  pocket. 

It  became  necessary  for  President  Romana  at  an  early  day 
to  declare  his  policy  on  the  most  important  of  all  political 
questions  in  Peru,  that  of  the  relation  between  church  and 
state,  and  he  met  the  crisis  with  modest  courage  and 
composure. 

He  came  into  office  with  a  reputation  of  being  what  they 
call  a  **fanatico" — that  is,  a  religious  devotee,  an  extreme 
churchman  who  subordinates  everything  to  his  religion — as  his 
brother  is.  He  was  the  church  candidate  for  the  presidency, 
and  had  the  ardent  support  of  the  clergy  throughout  the 
country,  which  led  the  liberal  element  of  the  population  to 
fear  that  he  would  surrender  the  control  of  affairs  to  the 
priests.  This  impression  prevailed  so  generally  that  there 
was  a  decided  sensation  when  the  newspapers  announced  that 
President  Romana  had  accepted  an  invitation  from  the  Italian 
colony  to  participate  in  a  celebration  they  had  planned  for 
September  20,  the  anniversary  of  the  overthrow  of  the  tem- 
poral authority  of  the  pope,  and  the  establishment  of  civil  gov- 
ernment at  Rome.  Archbishop  Tovar  and  Mgr.  Gaspari,  the 
papal  nuncio,  hurried  to  the  palace  to  obtain  a  contradiction  of 
the  report,  but  to  their  amazement  the  president  confirmed  it. 
They  entered  a  solemn  protest  on  the  ground  that  such  an  act 
would  be  considered  a  repudiation  of  the  church. 

Mr.  Romana  replied  that  it  was  not  susceptible  of  any  such 


PERU   IN   PEACE  AND   PROSPERITY  139 

construction.  The  origin  of  the  holiday  had  no  significance  to 
him.  It  was  customary  for  each  of  the  foreign  colonies  at 
Lima  to  have  a  celebration  during  the  course  of  the  year  and 
for  the  president  of  the  republic  to  attend  them.  The  Ger- 
mans celebrated  the  birthday  of  their  kaiser  and  the  English 
the  birthday  of  their  queen,  the  French  the  anniversary  of  the 
fall  of  the  Bastile,  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  the  Fourth 
of  July,  and  the  Italians  had  selected  the  20th  of  September 
for  their  fiesta.  They  comprised  a  large  and  important  portion 
of  the  population,  larger  than  any  other  foreign  colony  in 
Peru,  and  he  had  accepted  their  invitation  for  the  same  reason 
that  he  had  accepted  one  from  the  Chilean  colony  two  days 
before  to  celebrate  the  anniversary  of  their  independence.  He 
intended  no  reflection  upon  the  pope  or  the  church ;  he  was 
too  loyal  a  churchman  to  be  suspected  of  such  a  thing,  but  he 
was  president  of  Peru,  and  not  an  official  of  the  church  or 
subject  to  ecclesiastical  authority  in  the  performance  of  his 
duties.  This  firmness  and  liberality  was  unexpected,  but 
brought  to  the  cordial  support  of  President  Romana  the  liberal 
classes  of  the  population  and  the  commercial  element,  which 
had  hitherto  distrusted  him. 

Like  her  nearest  neighbor,  the  republic  of  Ecuador,  the 
government  of  Peru  has  adopted  a  gold  standard  and  the  cur- 
rency is  now  issued  on  that  basis.  The  sol,  a  silver  coin  which 
until  recently  has  been  the  standard,  is  accepted  at  or  near  its 
actual  bullion  value— or  a  ratio  of  about  32  to  i — and  is 
redeemable  for  50  cents  in  gold,  although  it  contains  the  same 
amount  of  silver  as  the  standard  dollar  of  the  United  States, 
the  Sucre  of  Ecuador  and  the  yen  of  Japan.  The  libre,  which 
contains  the  same  amount  of  gold  as  the  pound  sterling,  or 
$4,87  in  United  States  money,  is  the  standard.  Ten  silver 
soles  make  one  libre,  ten  reals  make  one  sol.  The  coinage  of 
silver  has  been  stopped.  The  mint  is  entirely  occupied  in  the 
coinage  of  gold.  Paper  money  is  obsolete.  The  common  cur- 
rency is  still  silver,  which  is  awkward  and  inconvenient,  but 
the  new  gold  coins  are  gradually  coming  into  circulation  as 
the  volume  increases,  although  they  are  still  held  at  a  slight 
premium  which  is  due  more  to  their  convenience  and  their 


I40   BETWEEN  THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

scarcity  than  to  any  other  reason.  There  are  no  banks  in  the 
interior,  and  the  use  of  checks,  or  *' chits,"  that  are  so  common 
in  the  eastern  countries,  is  almost  unknown.  The  traveler 
who  is  going  into  the  interior  for  pleasure  or  for  business  is 
compelled  to  carry  coin  with  him,  and  if  he  takes  silver  he  has 
to  hire  an  extra  horse.  Therefore  there  is  an  active  demand 
for  gold,  and  the  people  who  need  it  are  willing  to  pay  some- 
thing for  the  advantage  it  brings  them. 

Peru  has  had  a  remarkable  experience  with  its  currency. 
The  people  know  all  about  fiat  money,  for  after  the  war 
with  Chile  and  at  other  times  when  revolutions  have  been 
under  way,  the  country  has  been  flooded  with  irredeemable 
paper,  which  has  often  passed  current  as  low  as  two,  three,  and 
four  cents  on  the  dollar.  The  most  serious  crisis  in  the  finan- 
cial history  of  Peru  followed  the  war  with  Chile  in  1881.  The 
government  had  issued  millions  of  dollars  in  paper  currency  to 
pay  the  soldiers  and  to  purchase  supplies  for  them,  and,  not- 
withstanding the  desperate  efforts  that  were  made  to  sustain 
its  value,  it  kept  growing  weaker  and  weaker,  until  finally 
merchants  and  marketmen  refused  to  take  it  even  at  a  discount; 
of  95  per  cent. 

President  Pierola,  who  was  dictator,  issued  a  decree  declar- 
ing the  paper  currency  legal  tender  for  all  transactions,  and 
threatening  imprisonment  and  other  penalties  to  tradesmen 
who  refused  it.  At  the  same  time  the  government  insisted 
upon  the  payment  of  custom  duties  and  other  taxes  in  coin, 
and  as  long  as  it  would  not  accept  its  own  money  the  mer- 
chants concluded  to  follow  its  example.  Three  or  four  were 
arrested  under  the  decree  and  thrown  into  prison.  The 
remainder  marked  up  their  goods  sufficiently  to  cover  the 
discount,  and  demanded  $2  a  pound  for  beef,  75  cents  a  pound 
for  sugar,  and  $100,  instead  of  $5,  for  a  pair  of  boots. 

When  Pierola  went  out  of  power  there  was  some  slight 
improvement,  for  a  "constitutional"  president  was  inaug- 
urated, congress  was  called  together,  and  a  serious  effort  was 
made  to  reorganize  the  government  and  the  finances.  But  the 
reform  did  not  last  a  great  while,  and  the  paper  money  was 
still  a  heavy  load  to  carry. 


PERU    IN   PEACE   AND   PROSPERITY  141 

Finally  Antero  Aspillago,  the  secretary  of  the  treasury, 
who  is  now  president  of  the  Instituto  Technico,  decided  to 
knock  the  dragon  in  the  head.  The  government  did  not  want 
to  make  a  record  of  repudiation,  but  there  were  other  ways  to 
get  rid  of  the  obnoxious  currency.  The  opportunity  came 
when  the  intendente  of  Callao  was  called  upon  to  arrest  a 
merchant  of  that  city  for  refusing  to  accept  payment  for  a  pur- 
chase in  paper  money.  He  telegraphed  to  Lima  for  instruc- 
tions. Aspillago  telegraphed  back  that  the  police  authorities 
had  nothing  to  do  with  the  case  and  must  not  interfere.  This 
ruling  was  instantly  published  over  the  entire  republic,  and 
solved  the  problem  in  a  few  days,  for  if  people  could  not  be 
arrested  for  refusing  to  take  the  fiat  money,  of  course  they 
would  refuse.  So  the  merchants  throughout  Peru,  with  one 
accord,  demanded  silver  or  gold  from  every  purchaser,  and  the 
government  turned  its  back  and  closed  its  eyes. 

The  banks  had  long  ago  declined  to  accept  paper  money  on 
deprysit.  There  was  a  small  riot  at  the  market  in  Lima  because 
the  hucksters  would  not  receive  paper  in  payment  for  meat, 
potatoes  and  bread,  but  the  police  refused  to  interfere,  and  in 
a  few  days  the  public  settled  down  to  the  conviction  that  paper 
money  was  entirely  worthless.  Some  demonstrative  persons 
made  bonfires  of  the  currency  in  the  plazas,  but  people  gen- 
erally accepted  the  situation  without  protests  or  objections,  and 
paper  currency  became  obsolete  in  Peru. 

Since  then  silver  sols  have  been  the  circulating  medium. 
The  mints  were  kept  busy  coining  money  for  the  miners  at  the 
rate  of  about  $40,000  a  week,  and  the  coins  were  exported 
in  order  to  evade  an  export  tax  on  bar  silver,  which  was  5  per 
cent  of  its  value.  There  was  no  export  tax  on  coin,  and  the 
fee  of  the  mint  was  3  per  cent,  so  that  those  who  took  advan- 
tage of  this  method  made  a  profit  of  2  per  cent.  About 
$500,000  in  silver  is  absorbed  by  the  people  of  the  interior 
every  year.  Much  of  it  is  used  to  manufacture  ornaments. 
More  is  buried  in  the  ground  for  safe-keeping,  because  there 
are  no  banks  and  the  tax-gatherers  are  always  on  the  lookout 
for  their  prosperous  fellow-townsmen.  As  long  as  people  have 
nothing  ic  is  no  use  to  assess  them  for  taxes  or  call  upon  them 


142    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

for  parish  dues,  and  therefore  when  a  peon  gets  hold  of  an 
extra  silver  dollar  he  hides  it  as  quick  as  he  can. 

After  the  fall  in  the  price  of  silver  and  the  close  of  the  India 
mints  the  miners  of  Peru  looked  for  copper  and  have  made  a 
great  deal  of  money  from  that  metal.  The  silver  coined  and 
exported  as  I  have  described  paid  the  expense  of  operation  and 
transportation,  and  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  the  copper  have 
been  all  'Velvet."  Nearly  all  the  mines  that  are  in  reach  of 
transportation  facilities  have  continued  operations.  Backus  & 
Johnston,  two  Americans  from  Cleveland,  O. ,  have  established 
large  modern  smelters  at  Clasapalca,  near  the  terminus  of  the 
famous  Oroya  railroad.  The  smelters  are  under  the  direction 
of  Mr.  Henry  Guyer,  who  came  here  from  Montana  two  or 
three  years  ago.  They  have  been  shipping  large  quantities  of 
silver  and  copper  both  to  Europe  and  the  United  States.  The 
total  exports  in  1898  were  $9,481,213,  which  was  an  increase 
from  $6,448,567  the  previous  year. 

When  the  mints  were  closed  to  silver  coinage  in  1897,  it  is 
estimated  that  there  were  4,500,000  silver  sols  in  circulation, 
and  a  decree  was  issued  prohibiting  the  importation  of  those 
that  had  been  shipped  out  of  the  country. 

The  single  standard  law  was  the  result  of  persistent  and 
long-continued  efforts  on  the  part  of  Manuel  Candamo,  presi- 
dent of  the  chamber  of  commerce  and  leader  of  the  civilista 
party;  Miro  Quesada,  editor  of  El  Comercio,  the  oldest  and 
most  influential  newspaper  on  the  west  coast,  and  other  men 
of  their  stamp.  They  failed  several  times  in  congress,  but 
finally  got  the  law  through  the  chamber  of  deputies  by  one 
majority.  The  senate  was  always  with  them.  Of  course  there 
was  decided  opposition,  chiefly  from  the  haciendados  and 
other  persons  producing  merchandise  for  export.  They  paid 
silver  for  wages  and  received  gold  for  their  produce,  and  they 
feared  the  effect  of  the  legislation.  Many  politicians  also  pre- 
dicted that  the  adoption  of  a  gold  standard  would  be  the  ruin 
of  Peru  and  used  the  same  arguments  in  favor  of  the  free 
coinage  of  silver  that  are  familiar  to  us  in  the  United  States. 

The  result  was  a  surprise  to  all  classes.  Values  in  the 
local  markets  have  not  been  disturbed,  and  wages  have  not 


PERU    IN    PEACE   AND   PROSPERITY  143 

changed.  The  laborers  on  the  plantations  and  the  mechanics 
in  the  manufacturies  are  still  paid  in  silver  sols  at  the  same 
rates  that  prevailed  before  the  law  was  passed.  The  butchers 
and  bakers  and  hucksters  sell  their  food  for  the  same  price  and 
accept  the  same  money.  The  only  difference  is  an  increase  in 
the  cost  of  imported  goods.  They  were  paid  for  in  gold  and 
sold  for  gold  prices  before  the  law  was  passed,  just  as  they  are 
now,  but  the  government  now  requires  customs  duties  to  be 
paid  in  gold,  and  that  is  practically  an  increase  of  100  per  cent 
from  the  time  when  they  were  paid  in  silver.  The  change  in 
the  financial  system  has,  however,  acted  as  a  stimulant  to  the 
investment  of  foreign  capital,  and  has  considerably  improved 
the  credit  of  the  government  abroad.  The  value  of  silver  has 
been  maintained,  and  sols  have  not  fluctuated  more  than  3  or 
4  per  cent  at  the  outside. 

The  revenues  of  the  government  show  a  decided  increase, 
as  may  be  seen  by  the  following  statement : 

1895 $  6,034,594 

1896 10,703,023 

1897 12,172,506 

1898 14,318,312 

It  will  be  interesting  to  know  the  sources  of  the  Peruvian 
revenue,  which  were  as  follows  for  1898: 

Customs  duties $6,726,871 

Licenses  and  concessions    ....  3,000,926 

Tax  on  salt 569,718 

Rent  of  wharves 64,740 

Various  taxes 319,482 

Telegraph  tolls 36,186 

Postal  receipts 254,471 

Miscellaneous  receipts 253,391 

The  telegraph  tolls  are  for  messages  sent  over  the  land 
lines,  which  are  owned  by  the  government.  The  small  postal 
receipts  are  an  index  to  the  intelligence  of  the  people.  At 
least  80  per  cent,  including  almost  the  entire  laboring  popula- 
tion outside  of  the  cities,  are  illiterate.  The  total  population 
is  estimated  at  2,622,000,    of  whom  about  300,000  are  wild 


144   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES  AND   THE  OCEAN 

Indians  occupying  the  forests  on  the  eastern  slopes  of  the 
mountains. 

The  foreign  trade  of  Peru  also  shows  a  remarkable  increase. 
In  1898  the  imports  were  $19,297,272,  and  the  exports  $30,274,- 
775,  making  a  total  of  $49,572,048.  The  coasting  trade 
amounted  to  $27,095,938,  making  a  total  of  $76,667,986,  an 
increase  of  $10,521,497  from  the  previous  year. 

The  imports  into  Peru  consisted  of  the  following  classes  of 
articles  in  1898: 

Cotton  goods $4,067,668 

Woolen  goods 1,376,643 

Linen  goods 259,228 

Silk  goods 293,509 

Lumber  and  furniture 1,273,244 

Iron  and  steel 8,456,067 

Provisions  and  other  food  products  .  2,261,453 

Wines  and  liquors 509,758 

Drugs  and  medicines 799,797 

There  was  an  increase  in  every  class  of  articles  except 
woolen  goods,  which  fell  off  $41,391  from  the  previous  year. 
The  largest  increase,  amounting  nearly  to  $2,000,000,  was  in 
iron  and  steel,  and  represented  railway  supplies  and  machinery. 

Great  Britain  has  the  lion's  share  of  the  trade,  and  has 
always  had  it. 

The  imports  in  1898  were  divided  among  the  principal 
nations,  as  follows: 

Great  Britain $8,632,771 

Germany 3,401,887 

United  States .     .  2,078,376 

France 1,554,004 

Chile 1,368,530 

Italy 667,694 

Belgium ...  600,393 

China 526,649 

The  trade  with  no  other  nation    amounted   to  $500,000. 
There  was  an  increase  in  favor  of  all  the  nations  named  except 


PERU   IN   PEACE   AND   PROSPERITY  145 

China,  where  there  was  a  falling  off  of  $41,378.  The  largest 
increase  is  shown  in  the  imports  from  England,  which 
amounted  to  $1,800,000.  The  imports  from  the  United  States 
also  show  considerable  improvement,  the  increase  being 
$430,849  in  1898,  when  they  were  larger  than  for  any  year 
since  1871. 

The  exports  of  Peru  were  as  follows  in  1S98 : 

Silver  and  copper  ore $9,481,213 

Sugar 9,220,981 

Wool 3,082,635 

Raw  cotton 3,469,955 

Hides  and  skins 831,186 

Cacao 876,345 

Rice 633,465 

Borax 574,226 

Coffee 541,715 

Fruits  and  vegetables 506,709 

Silver  coin  and  bullion 921,172 

There  are  a  good  many  other  items  in  the  list  of  exports, 
but  none  of  them  exceeded  $500,000. 

The  cotton  and  mineral  exports  went  chiefly  to  Great 
•Britain,  the  rice  to  Ecuador  and  the  sugar  to  the  United  States, 
to  make  up  for  the  falling  off  in  the  product  of  Cuba.  That 
trade,  however,  is  only  temporary,  and  the  Peruvian  sugar- 
growers  will  be  greatly  disappointed  when  they  discover  that 
fact. 

The  export  trade  is  divided  as  follows  among  the  different 
nations : 

Great  Britain .     .     $17,153,936 

Chile 4,588,479 

United  States 2,873,526 

Germany 2,703,772 

Ecuador 892,006 

France 820,952 

Bolivia 628,926 

There  were  exports  to  several  other  nations,  but  none  of 
them  exceeded  $500,000  in  value. 


X 

THE  CONGRESS  OF  PERU   IN  SESSION 

It  is  customary  for  the  congress  of  Peru  to  assemble  on 
Independence  day  and  receive  the  message  of  the  president. 
The  lower  house  of  congress  occupies  the  ancient  edifice  of  the 
College  of  San  Marco,  the  oldest  institution  of  learning  in 
America,  which  was  founded  by  the  Jesuit  fathers  in  155 1, 
sixty -nine  years  before  the  pilgrims  landed  at  Plymouth.  This 
venerable  structure  has  been  restored,  but  still  shows  signs  of 
its  antiquity. 

The  chamber  of  deputies  is  a  long,  narrow  room,  with 
crimson  paper  upon  the  walls  and  upholstery  of  the  same 
color.  The  woodwork  is  painted  white  and  lined  with  gold, 
and  there  is  a  beautiful  ceiling  of  carved  oak  more  than  three 
centuries  old.  The  president  or  speaker  usually  sits  on  a 
gilded  chair  under  a  velvet  canopy,  upon  a  dais  approached  by 
three  steps,  with  a  velvet  cushion  under  his  feet,  and  they  call 
it  a  throne.  On  this  occasion,  however,  the  seat  of  honor  was 
surrendered  to  the  president  of  the  republic  and  the  president 
of  the  senate,  who  presided  over  the  joint  session,  and  two 
gilded  chairs  and  two  velvet  cushions  were  placed  side  by  side 
on  this  occasion. 

The  members  of  the  house  sit  in  rows  of  arm  chairs  built 
into  the  wall  on  either  side  of  the  narrow  apartment  like  those 
of  a  choir  in  a  cathedral  and  somewhat  similar  to  the  house  of 
commons  in  England.  There  is  a  large  table  in  the  center  of 
the  room,  with  a  ponderous  writing  set  of  silver,  a  silver  clock 
and  a  large  crucifix  of  handsome  polished  mahogany,  bearing 
an  ivory  figure  of  our  Savior.  Two  lighted  candles  bum  on 
either  side,  and  in  front  of  the  crucifix  is  a  silver  urn.  At  the 
center  of  one  of  the  side  walls  is  a  tribune  or  pulpit  for  the 
orators,  and  the  members  are  required  to  occupy  it  when  they 

146 


THE   CONGRESS  OF   PERU    IN   SESSION       147 

make  speeches.  Under  it  is  a  little  ebony  table  for  the  use  of 
the  official  reporter.  In  narrow  galleries,  which  are  fastened 
to  the  wall  like  brackets,  and  are  reached  by  narrow,  winding 
stairways,  are  a  few  seats  for  the  diplomatic  corps,  and  a  little 
corner  that  will  accommodate  five  reporters.  Behind  the  rail 
which  separates  the  sanctum  sanctorum  from  what  we  may  call 
the  lobby,  are  seats  for  about  seventy-five  or  eighty  persons, 
and  high  up  toward  the  ceiling  is  a  Moorish  gallery  of  carved 
wood,  the  natural  color,  for  the  accommodation  of  the  ladies. 
Altogether,  it  is  a  quaint,  old-fashioned  little  room,  and  the 
proceedings  were  conducted  with  an  old-fashioned  decorum 
and  propriety  that  corresponded  well  with  the  surroundings. 

The  members  came  filtering  in  through  private  doors  during 
the  half -hour  preceding  the  time  of  meeting,  and  every  one 
was  in  what  we  call  evening  dress,  a  swallow-tail  coat,  low-cut 
waistcoat,  white  necktie  and  white  gloves.  Some  of  them 
carried  opera  hats,  and  indeed  they  were  attired  just  as  if  they 
were  going  to  a  ball.  The  secretaries  and  clerks  were  clad  in 
similar  manner,  and  the  pages  wore  livery  and  buttons  like 
bell  boys  at  a  fashionable  hotel.  A  militarj^-looking  man  with 
a  prodigious  mustache,  a  resplendent  uniform  covered  with 
gold  braid  and  scarlet  trousers  acted  as  sergeant-at-arms  and 
chief  usher,  and  was  assisted  by  several  officers  of  lesser  rank. 
During  the  proceedings  he  occupied  a  seat  beside  the  throne. 

There  are  113  members  of  the  house  and  102  were  present, 
of  whom  the  votes  showed  that  the  government  had  a  majority 
of  six.  The  roll  call  disclosed  one  general,  seven  colonels  and 
six  priests.  The  priests  wore  their  ecclesiastical  robes.  Three 
members  are  brothers  named  Seminario  y  Arambura,  from 
the  city  of  Piura.  They  sit  side  by  side,  belong  to  the  same 
political  party,  are  all  colonels  in  the  army,  and  their  family 
is  one  of  the  oldest  and  richest  in  Peru.  Among  the  surnames 
I  noticed  one  Abel,  one  Moses,  one  Isaiah,  one  Ezekiel,  one 
Cataline,  two  Caesars,  and  ten  Johns. 

The  Isaiah  is  a  son  of  President  Pierola,  a  fine-looking 
young  fellow,  short  and  plump,  with  a  pleasant  face  and  an 
unostentatious  mustache.  He  would  pass  in  Chicago  for  a 
prosperous  member  of  the  board  of  trade.     The  ^e&ident's 


148   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES  AND  THE   OCEAN 

brother,  Carlos,  was  speaker  of  the  last  house,  and  presided 
over  the  preliminary  proceedings,  so  that  the  Pierola  family- 
was  well  represented.  Carlos  looks  like  the  typical  Spaniard, 
with  intensely  black  hair,  Vandyke  beard,  and  the  manners  of 
a  courtier.  Sousa,  the  new  speaker  of  the  house,  is  the  presi- 
dent's brother-in-law,  and  on  the  streets  of  Chicago  might 
easily  be  taken  for  ex-Mayor  Hopkins. 

Altogether  the  members  of  the  house  are  a  fine-looking  set 
of  men,  and  they  showed  a  sense  of  their  dignity  and  the 
importance  of  the  proceedings,  which  were  more  impressive 
than  we  are  accustomed  to  in  the  house  of  representatives  at 
Washington.  They  couldn't  have  behaved  better  at  the 
funeral  of  an  archbishop.  The  dim  light  of  the  room,  the 
black  garments  and  white  gloves,  the  deferential  manners  and 
stately  composure  that  prevailed  throughout  made  frivolity 
impossible,  and  if  John  Allen  or  William  E.  Chandler  should 
be  elected  to  the  Peruvian  congress  and  attempt  any  of  their 
jokes  they  would  be  expelled  without  reference  to  a  committee 
and  by  a  unanimous  vote. 

When  3  o'clock  came,  one  of  the  pages  opened  the  big  doors 
that  led  into  the  patio,  and  rang  a  hand  bell  vigorously,  just 
like  a  country  schoolteacher  calling  the  children  in  from 
recess,  or  a  farmer's  wife  summoning  the  hired  men  to  dinner. 
A  file  of  soldiers  marched  briskly  in  and  stood  at  *' attention" 
on  either  side  of  the  entrance.  Tardy  members  of  the  house 
sauntered  in,  bowed  politely  to  their  friends,  and  took  their 
seats  in  silence,  each  political  party  on  its  own  side  of  the 
chamber. 

While  the  clerk  was  calling  the  roll  the  general  of  the  army 
with  his  staff  appeared  in  a  uniform  quite  as  elaborate  as  that 
of  General  Miles.  The  citizens  who  had  seized  the  seats  in  the 
public  gallery  refused  to  surrender  them  to  him,  although  the 
sergeant-at-arms  admonished  them  sternly.  Thus,  for  once, 
the  "civilistas"  got  the  better  of  the  military  in  Peru,  but  the 
general  and  his  staff  punished  them  by  treading  on  their  toes 
and  standing  directly  in  front  of  them  so  that  they  could  not 
see  anything  that  was  going  on. 

The  first  business  in  order  was  the  election  of  officers. 


THE   CONGRESS   OF   PERU   IN   SESSION       149 

There  had  been  a  caucus  and  a  compromise,  which  is  custom- 
ary. The  government  party  gave  the  opposition  one  of  the 
two  vice-speakers  and  one  of  the  three  secretaries,  who  were 
formally  elected  by  ballot.  Then  we  learned  what  the  urn 
was  for.  As  the  roll  was  called  each  member  came  forward 
and  dropped  into  it  a  ballot  upon  which  were  written  the 
names  of  the  candidates  he  supported.  Ordinary  voting  is 
done  with  marbles  in  a  similar  manner.  A  white  marble 
dropped  into  the  urn  means  a  vote  in  the  affirmative,  a  black 
marble  means  a  negative  vote. 

The  speaker,  or  president,  as  they  call  him,  uses  a  little 
silver  tea  bell  instead  of  a  gavel.  When  the  outgoing  presi- 
dent, Carlos  Pierola,  had  counted  and  announced  the  vote,  he 
called  Aurelo  Sousa,  his  brother-in-law  and  successor,  forward 
to  take  the  oath.  A  page  brought  a  beautiful  velvet  cushion 
edged  with  gold  braid,  and  placed  it  on  the  floor  beside  the 
table,  while  a  second  page  brought  a  Bible,  handsomely  bound 
in  red  morocco  and  gilt,  with  a  golden  clasp.  The  new 
speaker  knelt  upon  the  cushion,  looked  upon  the  crucifix  in 
front  of  him,  and  laid  both  of  his  white-gloved  hands  upon  the 
word  of  God,  while  the  oath  that  bound  him  to  support  the 
constitution  and  the  Holy  Apostolic  Roman  Catholic  Church 
was  administered.  As  he  rose  from  his  knees  his  brother-in- 
law  shook  hands  with  him  and  with  a  graceful  gesture  yielded 
the  chair.  There  was  no  applause,  for  any  demonstration  is 
considered  unbecoming.  The  new  speaker  bowed  to  the  right 
and  then  to  the  left,  where  his  political  friends  and  foes  were 
sitting,  and  then  bowed  to  the  middle  of  the  room,  where  there 
was  nothing  but  empty  chairs,  brought  in  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  the  senators,  who  came  later.  Then  he  went  down 
into  his  breast  pocket  and  produced  a  manuscript,  which  he 
read  in  a  sonorous  voice. 

The  new  vice-presidents  were  sworn  in  together,  kneeling 
on  the  same  cushion,  and  then  the  other  officers,  and  after 
them  the  members  of  the  house  took  the  oath  of  office  in 
bunches  of  four  in  a  similar  manner. 

While  this  was  going  on  the  senators  came  rambling  in  by 
twos  and  threes  for  the  joint  session,  and,  bowing  gfracefully 


ISO   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

and  respectfully  to  everybody,  dropped  into  vacant  seats. 
They  also  were  in  immaculate  attire,  with  their  evening  suits, 
white  gloves  and  opera  hats,  and  were  older  and  altogether 
more  substantial  in  apppearance  than  the  deputies.  There 
were  deeper  lines  upon  their  faces  and  more  material  in  their 
waistcoats.  There  were  several  Indians,  two  mulattoes,  and 
three  priests  in  their  clerical  robes,  among  the  senators.  The 
senate  of  Peru,  collectively  speaking,  is  a  much  better-looking 
body  than  the  senate  of  the  United  States. 

As  in  our  own  congress,  a  committee  was  appointed  to 
wait  upon  the  president  of  the  republic  and  inform  him  that 
congress  had  organized  and  was  ready  to  receive  any  commu- 
nication from  the  executive  power.  While  it  was  gone  the 
clerk  of  the  senate  entered  the  tribune  and  read  with  consid- 
erable dramatic  power  the  Peruvian  declaration  of  independ- 
ence, which  was  adopted  seventy-eight  years  ago.  During 
the  reading  the  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  entered,  wearing 
wide  ribbons  of  red  and  white  .around  their  necks,  cocked  hats 
with  black  plumes,  and  carrying  walking  sticks,  ornamented 
with  golden  cords  and  tassels.  Then  came  the  diplomatic 
corps,  headed  by  the  papal  nuncior,  who  wore  a  purple  cassock 
over  a  scarlet  frock. 

Then  there  was  a  long  wait  until  the  notification  committee 
returned  and  announced  that  the  president  was  on  his  way  to 
the  chamber.  But  no  people  can  better  dispose  of  themselves 
in  idleness  than  the  Spanish- Americans,  and  none  can  main- 
tain such  a  dignified  ease  and  composure  under  circumstances 
that  would  easily  irritate  an  Englishman  or  an  American. 
The  silence  was  at  last  broken  by  the  sound  of  bugles,  long 
drawn  out  and  always  ending  with  a  ludicrous  little  screech  an 
octave  higher.  Then  there  was  a  clatter  of  hoofs  and  wheels 
upon  the  cobblestone  pavement,  a  clanging  of  sabers,  a  hoarse 
shouting  of  orders  and  a  rousing  cheer,  which  still  filled  the 
air  when  a  dapper  little  man  stepped  quickly  into  the  patio 
with  a  smile  on  his  face  and  a  graceful  acknowledgment  of  the 
cordial  reception.  He  wore  a  Conkling  curl  on  his  high  fore- 
head, and  looked  as  if  he  had  a  private  barber  and  kept  him 
well  employed.     His  tiny  feet  were  shod  with  polished  patent 


THE   CONGRESS   OF   PERU   IN   SESSION       151 

leather.  A  good  face  has  President  Pierola,  and  a  kindly 
expression.  He  loves  to  please,  and  they  say  his  greatest  fault 
is  a  craving  for  admiration ;  which,  by  the  way,  is  not  a  crime 
in  a  public  man.  He  has  quick,  nervous  mannerisms.  Every 
muscle  in  his  small  frame  and  every  mental  faculty  is  always 
alert.  His  style  and  manners  are  Frenchy,  the  broadcloth  suit 
and  the  embroidered  shirt  he  wore  were  made  in  Paris,  and 
the  handsome  carriage,  decorated  in  scarlet  and  gilt,  in  which 
he  drove  from  the  palace,  is  an  exact  copy  of  one  that  was  used 
by  Jules  Grevy  when  he  was  president  of  France.  Across  his 
breast  Pierola  wore  a  sash  of  the  national  colors,  with  a  heavy 
silk  tassel  at  the  end. 

The  president  entered  the  chamber  slowly,  with  perfect 
self-possession  and  an  eye  to  dramatic  effect.  He  smiled  as 
he  caught  the  eyes  of  several  friends  while  he  stood  on  the 
threshold  waiting  for  his  cabinet  to  catch  up  with  him,  and 
bowed  to  several  individuals  of  both  political  parties  as  he 
passed  between  them  to  the  president's  chair,  followed  by  his 
ministers  and  a  military  staff  in  brilliant  uniforms.  He  shook 
hands  with  the  president  of  the  senate  and  the  speaker  of  the 
house,  and,  accompanied  by  the  former,  mounted  the  platform 
and  took  his  seat  in  one  of  the  gilded  chairs.  After  a  brief 
interval,  that  permitted  quiet  to  be  restored,  he  arose  and 
rendered  an  account  of  his  stewardship  for  the  previous  four 
years. 

The  message  was  criticised  as  boastful,  but  it  is  a  long  time 
since  any  president  of  Peru  has  earned  a  right  to  boast,  and 
Pierola' s  pride  has  a  good  foundation.  He  has  the  right  to 
take  the  credit  to  his  administration  for  the  prosperity  of  his 
country  and  the  prospects  of  peace  and  progress  for  the 
future.  He  spoke  with  gratification  of  the  improved  credit, 
the  enlarged  commerce,  and  especially  of  the  fact  that  there 
would  be  no  deficit  in  the  national  revenues  during  the  current 
year,  which  I  believe  is  unprecedented,  at  least  in  the  present 
generation.  Only  once  was  he  interrupted  by  applause,  and 
that  was  spontaneous,  the  result  of  an  irresistible  spirit  of 
j  approval  among  the  spectators  when  he  spoke  of  threatened 
I  revolution  and  declared  it  impossible,  not  because  the  power 


152    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

of  the  government  could  prevent  it,  but  because  the  people 
were  determined  to  have  peace. 

As  he  commended  his  country  to  God  in  the  usual  formal 
phrases  that  conclude  each  public  document,  Pierola  sank  into 
his  seat,  the  most  thoroughly  satisfied  man  that  ever  occupied 
the  presidency  of  Peru,  and  a  few  moments  later,  when  he 
shook  hands  with  the  president  of  the  senate  and  bowed  his 
way  out  of  the  chamber,  he  closed  an  epoch  of  unusual  impor- 
tance in  Peruvian  history ;  a  period  of  four  years  of  peace. 

The  system  of  government  in  Peru  resembles  that  of 
France  more  than  that  of  the  United  States.  The  cabinet 
ministers  are  responsible  directly  to  congress,  as  in  England, 
France  and  some  other  European  countries,  and  are  compelled 
to  resign  whenever  there  is  a  change  in  the  political  com- 
plexion of  the  legislative  branch  of  the  government  or  when- 
ever a  lack  of  confidence  in  their  administration  is  expressed. 
When  a  new  president  is  inaugurated  he  designates  some 
distinguished  leader  of  the  majority  to  form  a  cabinet,  as 
is  done  in  France,  and  the  appointments  are  subject  to  con- 
firmation by  both  branches  of  congress.  The  ministers  do  not 
have  seats  on  the  floor,  but  are  sent  for  from  time  to  time  and 
interrogated  upon  matters  of  business  under  their  jurisdiction. 
Ministers  are  also  authorized  to  prepare  and  present  laws  to 
both  houses  and  assist  in  the  discussion,  but  are  required  to 
retire  before  a  vote  is  taken.  Every  senator  and  member  of 
the  house  has  an  alternate  elected  at  the  same  time,  who  has 
rights  and  privileges  similar  to  those  enjoyed  by  alternates  in 
our  political  conventions,  and  whenever  the  principal  fails  to 
appear  or  desires  for  any  reason  to  take  a  vacation,  his  substi- 
tute draws  his  pay  and  performs  his  duties. 

Members  of  congress  are  paid  40  sols  a  day  during  the  time 
they  are  employed.  The  president  has  a  salary  of  24,000  sols 
a  year,  with  an  allowance  of  51,000  sols  for  the  support  of  the 
palace  and  the  contingent  expenses  of  his  office.  In  1899  the 
expenses  of  the  legislative  branch  amounted  to  $364,370  out  of 
a  total  of  $12,604,670  for  the  entire  government.  The  diplo- 
matic and  consular  service  cost  $87,473;  the  courts,  prisons, 
schools  and  other  institutions  of  similar  character,  $i,3oo»35o» 


THE   CONGRESS   OF   PERU   IN   SESSION       153 

the  treasury  and  custom  service,  $3,485,900;  the  army  and 
navy,  $3,370,470;  the  department  of  public  works,  $430,660, 
and  the  interior  department,  which  is  the  largest  and  most 
important  ministry  of  the  government,  $2,778,170,  This 
includes  the  postal  and  telegraph  service,  the  cost  of  elections, 
and  the  salaries  and  expenses  of  governors  and  other  oflScials 
of  provinces  and  towns  throughout  the  republic,  who  are  all 
appointed  by  the  president  and  subject  to  his  removal. 

The  schools  come  under  the  minister  of  justice.  It  costs 
$9,000  to  support  the  public  library,  $3,480  to  care  for  the 
national  archives,  and  $160,770  was  contributed  by  the  govern- 
ment for  the  support  of  the  university  and  different  colleges 
throughout  the  republic,  of  which  the  university  proper 
received  $82,530. 

The  total  contribution  to  the  church  is  $162,140,  which  is 
expended  in  the  support  of  the  cathedrals  and  the  salaries  of 
the  bishops  at  Lima,  Trujillo,  Cusco,  Arequipa  and  other 
dioceses.  The  archbishop  receives  a  salary  of  8,000  sols.  A 
large  staff  of  secretaries  and  assistants,  deans  and  canons,  and 
even  the  organist  and  the  janitors  of  the  cathedrals,  are  upon 
the  pay  roll.  All  the  cathedrals  throughout  the  country  are 
kept  in  repair  and  sustained  by  the  federal  government. 

The  ordinary  schools  are  supported  by  the  municipalities 
and  provinces,  and  education  is  nominally  free  and  compulsory 
for  children  between  the  ages  of  6  and  12  years,  but  the  law  is 
not  enforced  except  in  Lima,  Callao  and  one  or  two  other 
cities.  The  teachers  are  ill-paid,  the  buildings  are  inadequate, 
and  in  the  interior  schools  are  few  and  far  between.  The 
general  government  pays  little  attention  to  them,  and  their 
condition  depends  entirely  upon  the  character  of  the  governor 
of  that  particular  district. 

While  taking  a  trip  over  the  famous  Oroya  road  we  visited 
a  typical  Peruvian  country  school  at  the  little  town  of  Chicla, 
in  the  heart  of  the  Andes.  It  occupied  a  low-roofed  mud  hut 
adjoining  the  village  church.  There  were  about  forty  young- 
sters of  both  sexes,  twelve  years  old  and  under,  with  bright, 
beadlike  eyes,  Indian  features,  stiff,  coarse,  coal-black  hair, 
sturdy  frames,  and  most  of  them  had  intelligent  faces,  partic- 


154   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

ularly  the  girls,  who  were  more  neatly  dressed  than  the  boys. 
Their  teacher,  from  her  appearance,  was  evidently  a  superior 
person,  for  her  complexion  was  white,  her  manners  were  good, 
and  she  seemed  to  be  well  educated.  The  teacher  of  the  boys' 
school  was  a  dull-looking  fellow,  with  a  low  brow  and  a  furtive 
eye,  who  wore  a  sarepa  or  shawl  around  his  throat  and  face, 
and  kept  his  hat  on  in  the  schoolroom  as  if  suffering  from 
cold.  The  alcalde  of  the  village  happened  to  be  present  super- 
intending some  repairs  upon  the  building,  whose  crumbling 
walls  were  being  re-enforced  by  fresh  coats  of  mud  that  was 
mixed  under  his  directions  in  the  courtyard.  The  schoolhouse 
was  as  rude  as  a  * 'dugout"  on  the  prairies  of  Kansas  in  early 
days.  The  only  furniture  was  a  long  table  in  the  center  and 
three  or  four  low  benches  without  backs.  The  wall  was 
decorated  with  large  cards  upon  which  the  alphabet,  the 
diphthongs  and  words  of  one  syllable  were  printed  for  the 
benefit  of  pupils  whose  education  had  not  yet  reached  the 
period  of  books.  With  glowing  pride  the  teacher  called  up 
his  prize  pupils  and  had  them  point  out  upon  an  illustrated 
chart  the  different  forms  of  money,  weights  and  measures  used 
in  Peru.  Then  the  children  gathered  in  the  patio  and  sang  the 
national  hymn  for  us,  after  which  we  took  their  photographs 
collectively  and  threw  pennies  into  the  air  for  them  to  scram- 
ble after. 

The  fashionable  school  for  young  ladies  in  Lima  is  the 
convent  of  San  Pedro,  an  ancient  institution,  at  which  the 
daughters  of  wealthy  families  for  many  generations  have  been 
educated  by  the  Sisters  of  the  Sacred  Heart.  There  are  vari- 
ous private  schools  for  boys  also,  and  among  the  most  success- 
ful is  a  commercial  high  school  with  a  three  years'  course 
under  the  care  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Wood  of  the  methodist  mission. 
It  is  entirely  unsectarian,  and  receives  no  missionary  funds, 
but  is  supported  by  tuition  fees,  with  the  help  of  a  financial 
guaranty  from  some  of  the  most  important  business  men  in 
Lima.  Dr.  Wood  also  has  a  primary  school  for  both  sexes  in 
Lima,  with  an  average  attendance  of  loo  and  nine  teachers. 
In  Callao  he  has  an  elementary,  an  intermediate  and  a  high 
school  in  English  and  an  elementary  school  in  Spanish,    in 


THE   CONGRESS   OF   PERU   IN   SESSION       155 

which  he  is  assisted  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Pusey,  formerly  of  Medi- 
apolis,  Iowa.  These  schools  are  also  non-sectarian,  and  are 
supported  by  tuition  fees  and  donations  from  business  men  in 
Peru  who  are  interested  in  promoting  English  education,  and 
the  deficits  are  made  up  by  the  methodist  board  of  missions. 
There  are  sixteen  native  teachers  and  helpers,  and  an  average 
attendance  of  about  200  pupils. 

The  University  of  Peru  is  a  venerable  institution — the  oldest 
in  America,  having  been  founded  by  Pizarro  shortly  after  the 
conquest  of  the  country.  Its  schools  of  medicine  and  law  hold 
their  charters  from  Charles  V.  of  Spain,  and  for  many  years 
young  men  from  all  parts  of  the  continent  went  there  for  edu- 
cation. There  are  also  classical  schools  and  theological  semi- 
naries in  connection  with  several  of  the  monasteries. 

Professional  men  from  other  countries  find  great  difficulty 
in  getting  a  start  in  Peru,  because  of  the  jealousy  of  the  local 
practitioners  against  foreign  competition,  who  have  succeeded 
in  inducing  congress  to  pass  rigid  laws  requiring  examinations 
of  the  most  severe  character  before  foreigners  are  allowed  to 
practice  law  or  medicine,  and  the  local  bar  and  medical  asso- 
ciations make  it  as  difficult  as  possible  for  any  one  to  get 
through.  This  is,  of  course,  perfectly  natural,  and  we  who 
shut  out  foreign  competition  from  our  own  country  have  no 
right  to  complain  because  other  countries  will  not  permit  free 
trade  in  professional  skill. 

The  people  of  Peru  and  other  Latin-American  countries 
prefer  American  practitioners  both  in  medicine  and  dentistry, 
and  the  local  doctors  realize  it.  They  also  recognize  that  our 
schools  stand  higher  than  any  others  in  the  world,  but  accept 
no  diplomas  on  the  pretext  that  fraudulent  degrees  have  been 
issued  by  bogus  American  institutions,  and  that  their  fellow- 
citizens  must  be  protected  against  quacks.  The  diplomatic 
agents  of  the  United  States,  who  have  been  negotiating  for 
years  to  secure  the  acceptance  of  diplomas  from  American 
institutions,  have  met  this  objection  every  time  they  have 
proposed  the  question,  and  it  will  never  be  overcome  in  this 
generation.  Every  man  who  goes  there  to  practice  medicine 
or  dentistry  is  required  to  speak  the  Spanish  language  fluently 


156    BETWEEN   THE  ANDES   AND   THE  OCEAN 

in  order  that  he  may  obtain  an  intelligent  diagnosis  of  a 
case,  and  his  professional  knowledge  is  ascertained  by  written 
and  oral  examinations  conducted  by  the  boards  of  the  medical 
branch  of  the  university.  Nevertheless,  there  are  two  or  three 
very  successful  American  dentists  in  Peru,  who,  because  of 
their  superior  skill,  get  the  patronage  of  the  best  families. 

There  is  also  a  movement  on  foot  against  imported  labor. 
Peru  suffers  from  a  want  of  workingmen  as  well  as  a  want  of 
capital.  The  population  of  the  country  has  been  gradually 
diminishing  for  several  years,  according  to  the  opinion  of  men 
who  are  well  posted,  chiefly  because  of  wars  and  revolutions. 
The  war  with  Chile  fifteen  years  ago  resulted  in  the  death  of 
40,000  or  50,000  able-bodied  laborers  and  the  disability  of  per- 
haps as  many  more.  The  last  revolution,  by  which  President 
Pierola  came  into  power,  cost  10,000  lives,  and  the  ordinary 
death  rate  is  greater  than  the  birth  rate  throughout  the  entire 
republic,  notwithstanding  the  large  families.  Some  years  ago, 
during  the  boom  in  Peru,  thousands  of  Chinamen  were 
imported  as  laborers  upon  the  railroads  and  the  plantations. 
They  came  under  contract  for  a  term  of  years,  and  were  con- 
demned to  temporary  slavery.  They  were  kept  in  corrals  like 
cattle,  fed  at  certain  hours  of  the  day,  and  driven  to  their  tasks 
under  the  lash.  The  contracts  approved  by  the  government 
provided  that  they  should  receive  humane  treatment,  a  certain 
amount  of  food  a  day,  medical  attendance  and  other  attentions 
necessary  for  their  health  and  happiness.  But  there  was 
nobody  to  look  after  them,  and  on  some  of  the  plantations  they 
suffered  outrageous  brutality.  On  others  they  were  kindly 
treated  and  well  taken  care  of. 

Most  of  the  contracts  have  expired,  and  nearly  all  the  coo- 
lies in  the  country  are  now  free.  The  majority  of  them  flocked 
to  the  cities  as  soon  as  they  were  released,  but  some  remained 
on  the  plantations,  married  cholo  women,  and  are  doing  well. 
There  is  a  prejudice,  however,  against  Chinamen  in  Peru,  as 
everywhere,  because  of  their  frugality  and  willingness  to  work 
for  low  wages,  and  further  immigration  has  been  prohibited. 
Thinking  that  Japanese  are  less  objectionable,  some  gentlemen 
not  long  ago  obtained   concessions  to  bring  in  a  thousand 


THE   CONGRESS  OF   PERU   IN   SESSION       157 

coolies  from  Japan  as  an  experiment.  They  were  placed  upon 
plantations  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  but  have  turned 
out  badly.  The  climate  does  not  seem  to  agree  with  them, 
and  the  labor  is  too  hard.  Where  a  Chinaman  will  flourish 
and  grow  fat,  a  Japanese  will  lie  down  and  die  from  fatigue. 
It  is  said  that  many  of  them  have  died  from  nostalgia,  or 
homesickness. 

The  army  absorbs  about  2,500  men  every  year,  and  is 
recruited  from  the  cholos,  or  Indians  of  the  mountains,  who 
are  entirelj'-  ignorant  and  unsophisticated,  but  are  obedient, 
industrious  and  subject  to  discipline.  Each  province  is 
required  to  furnish  so  many  '* recruits,"  who  are  sent  down  to 
Lima  when  the  secretary  of  war  calls  for  them.  Conscription 
is  forbidden  by  the  constitution,  but  there  seems  to  be  no 
objection  to  seizing  a  lot  of  Indians  and  shipping  them  away 
from  their  homes  to  the  capital  whenever  they  are  needed. 
When  they  arrive  they  are  clad  in  comfortable  uniforms 
of  blue  cotton  cloth,  are  furnished  with  shoes  and  hats,  and 
are  taught  much  useful  knowledge  in  addition  to  their  mili- 
tary training,  so  that  they  soon  become  contented,  and  those 
who  return  to  their  homes  at  the  end  of  two  years'  service  are 
much  better  qualified  to  continue  the  struggle  for  existence 
than  they  were  in  the  wild  state,  and  usually  become  men  of 
importance.  But  many  die  of  disease  or  are  slaughtered  in 
revolutions;  others  become  so  fascinated  with  city  life  that 
they  remain  about  Lima  and  Callao  when  the  term  of  their 
enlistment  is  expired.  A  few  continue  in  the  army.  Thus  is 
the  laboring  element  of  the  interior  continually  reduced  in 
numbers,  and  there  is  nobody  to  take  their  places.  Of  course, 
soldiers  are  necessary,  and  in  time  of  peace  the  peons  who 
wear  uniforms  are  undoubtedly  much  better  off  than  they 
would  be  in  their  own  homes. 

It  takes  three  days  to  celebrate  the  anniversary  of  Peru's 
independence,  which  occurs  on  the  28th  day  of  July,  not 
including  those  which  are  employed  in  preparation  for  the 
fete,  and  those  which  are  necessary  to  recover  from  the  fatigue 
that  excessive  patriotism  produces.  The  27th,  the  28th  and 
the  29th  of  July  are  holidays.     During  those  days  the  stores  and 


158    BETWEEN   THE  ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

factories  are  closed  and  all  business  is  suspended.  Even  the 
steamers  at  Callao,  which  by  their  regular  schedules  should 
sail  on  holidays,  have  to  tie  up  until  the  31st,  because  the 
officials  of  the  custom  house  are  off  for  a  good  time,  and  the 
peons  will  not  handle  the  cargo.  During  the  evening,  according 
to  a  venerated  custom,  everybody  goes  to  the  main  plaza,  a 
large  open  square  upon  which  the  old  palace  of  Pizarro,  the 
cathedral,  the  city  hall,  and  other  buildings  face,  and  witness 
fireworks  and  illuminations  which  have  been  prepared  for 
them  by  the  government.  Every  window  is  illuminated,  the 
cornices  of  the  buildings  are  trimmed  with  lights,  and  various 
patriotic  designs  in  gas  and  electricity  add  to  the  decorative 
brilliancy. 

The  sidewalk  of  the  square  is  encircled  by  a  continuous  line 
of  booths  and  tables,  occupied  by  sellers  of  chica,  the  native 
drink,  sweetmeats  and  other  refreshments,  who  maintain  their 
places  continuously  from  the  evening  of  the  27th  until  midday 
on  the  29th,  and  do  great  business  with  the  hungry  and  thirsty 
peasants  who  come  in  to  participate  in  the  celebration.  Mili- 
tary bands  give  concerts  from  7  o'clock  until  midnight,  all 
sorts  of  fakirs  ply  their  trade  at  the  street  corners,  and  the 
thoroughfares  are  thronged  with  surging  crowds  full  of  chica 
and  patriotism,  and  making  all  the  noise  they  can.  Many  of 
them  have  "buzzers,"  tin  horns  and  other  curious  instruments 
to  torture  the  hearing.  Many  of  these  we  northern  people 
have  never  seen,  such  as  the  ones  called  pitos,  pifanos,  tam- 
bores,  matracas,  zamponas,  and  cascabeles.  The  night  is  a 
tempest  of  sound,  but  everybody  is  good-natured  and  embraces 
his  friends  as  fast  and  as  frequently  as  he  sees  them.  When 
a  Peruvian  peon  gets  drunk  he  does  not  become  ugly,  but 
affectionate.  Therefore  we  saw  no  fighting,  but  a  great  deal 
of  hugging,  by  men  as  well  as  by  women. 

On  the  night  of  the  28th  the  boys  are  allowed  to  torment 
the  Chinamen,  and  the  latter  hide  themselves  early  in  the 
evening  to  avoid  persecution.  There  are  several  thousand  in 
the  city,  and,  as  is  customary  elsewhere,  they  occupy  a  quarter 
by  themselves,  through  which  crowds  of  hoodlums  rush 
brandishing  stalks  of  bamboo  and  sugar  cane  with  a  hope  of 


THE   CONGRESS   OF   PERU   IN   SESSION       159 

finding  some  celestial  to  flog  with  them.  The  police  protect 
the  Chinese  on  all  other  occasions,  but,  by  reason  of  some 
unhappy  custom,  they  have  to  look  out  for  themselves  on 
independence  night,  and  it  is  frequently  the  occasion  of  riots 
in  the  Chinese  quarter  when  the  baiting  is  carried  too  far. 

At  10  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  Independence  day  the 
president  of  Peru,  accompanied  by  his  cabinet  and  military 
staff,  the  members  of  the  diplomatic  corps  and  the  federal 
courts  and  many  other  '^functionaries  publicos,"  attends  mass 
at  the  cathedral,  which  is  usually  celebrated  by  the  archbishop. 

The  church  of  the  Franciscans,  and,  in  fact,  nearly  all  the 
churches,  have  been  restored  at  the  expense  of  the  municipal 
or  provincial  government.  The  federal  government  looks 
after  the  cathedral  only,  for  that  is  a  national  institution,  and 
well  it  should  be,  because  the  church  and  state  have  gone  hand 
in  hand  ever  since  Pizarro  landed  on  the  coast  of  Peru.  When 
he  gathered  his  little  battalion  of  freebooters  in  the  plaza  of 
Cajamarca,  awaiting  an  interview  with  Atahualpa,  the  Inca 
emperor,  ' '  to  explain  the  pacific  intentions  of  the  Spaniards 
in  visiting  the  country,"  Father  Valverde,  chaplain  of  the 
expedition,  stood  by  Pizarro's  side,  and  as  the  unsuspecting 
Indian,  reclining  on  a  litter  carried  by  his  attendants  and 
soldiers,  adorned  with  plumes  of  various  colors,  wearing  an 
armor  of  gold  and  silver,  embossed  with  precious  stones,  came 
into  their  presence  with  the  officers  of  his  court,  the  padre 
approached  him  with  a  crucifix  in  one  hand  and  a  breviary  in 
the  other,  and  commanded  Atahualpa  in  a  loud  voice  to  accept 
the  Christian  faith,  to  acknowledge  the  authority  of  the  pope 
and  to  recognize  the  sovereignty  of  the  king  of  Spain  on  the 
instant,  threatening  that  unless  the  Inca  did  as  he  was  told  he 
would  suffer  the  severest  punishment.  Atahualpa  refused,  and 
as  a  rebuke  the  Spanish  soldiers  murdered  the  whole  outfit. 

From  that  time  until  now  the  political  and  religious  affairs 
of  Peru  have  been  conducted  with  similar  harmony,  with  a  few 
short  intervals  of  disaffection. 

The  archbishop  of  Peru  is  an  officer  of  the  government. 
He  is  elected  by  congress,  his  salary  and  the  expenses  of  his 
establishment,  as  well  as  the  cost  of  maintaining  the  cathedral. 


i6o   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

are  paid  from  the  public  treasury  by  an  annual  appropriation 
of  congress  and  cost  about  $7,000  a  month.  The  pope  con- 
firms the  appointment  and  consecrates  the  archbishop,  but 
according  to  the  terms  of  a  concordat  between  Peru  and  the 
Vatican  he  cannot  remove  him  or  appoint  any  one  to  that 
ofiSce  without  the  consent  of  the  Peruvian  congress.  The 
archbishops  have  been  generally  eminent  men.  Priests  have 
always  taken  a  prominent  part  in  the  politics  of  the  country. 
Several  are  members  of  the  senate  and  chamber  of  deputies, 
and  both  houses  are  seldom  without  them.  Monks  and  priests 
have  been  elected  presidents  of  the  senate  and  speakers  of  the 
house  and  have  frequently  served  as  members  of  the  cabinet. 
The  present  archbishop,  Mgr.  Tovar,  was  for  several  years 
minister  of  foreign  affairs,  and  is  recognized  as  a  skillful  poli- 
tician and  a  statesman  of  ability.  He  has  also  served  for 
several  terms  in  both  houses  of  congress  and  has  been  quite  as 
prominent  and  active  in  political  as  in  ecclesiastical  affairs. 
He  is  still  young,  active,  and  popular  with  all  classes,  being 
a  man  of  broad  views  and  much  more  liberal  in  his  tendencies 
than  his  predecessor,  Archbishop  Bandini. 

The  president  of  Peru  rides  in  an  elaborate  carriage, 
similar  to  those  used  by  the  crowned  heads  of  Europe.  It  is 
large,  high,  and  handsomely  decorated.  The  box  is  hung  with 
upholstery  and  fringes  of  scarlet  and  white,  which  are  the 
colors  of  the  republic,  and  the  coachmen  and  footmen  and 
the  two  outriders  who  stand  in  a  boot  at  the  rear  are  dressed 
to  correspond,  with  cocked  hats,  silk  stockings,  silver  buckles 
on  their  boots  and  all  the  livery  of  royalty,  except  powdered 
wigs.  Upon  either  door  of  the  carriage  appears  a  representa- 
tion of  the  coat  of  arms  of  the  republic  about  a  foot  or  eighteen 
inches  in  diameter,  painted  in  brilliant  colors.  The  carriage 
is  drawn  by  four  handsome  bay  horses,  with  docked  tails  and 
a  harness  heavily  mounted  in  silver  and  bearing  the  coat  of 
arms  on  every  buckle  and  rosette. 

The  cemeteries  of  Lima,  like  those  of  Ecuador  and  other 
South  American  countries,  are  filled  with  immense  vaults  ten 
or  twelve  feet  high,  divided  into  pigeon  holes,  each  large 
enough  to  contain  a  coffin.     These  pigeon  holes  are  sold  or 


THE   CONGRESS   OF   PERU   IN   SESSION       i6i 

rented  in  perpetuity  or  for  a  given  number  of  years.  If  the 
rent  is  not  paid  after  the  expiration  of  the  time  for  which 
payment  is  made  the  coffin  or  the  bones  are  taken  out  and 
buried  in  the  potter's  field.  After  the  coffin  is  placed  in  the 
vault  the  opening  is  sealed  up  with  a  slab  of  marble,  upon 
which  the  epitaph  is  inscribed  with  appropriate  designs. 
Some  of  the  private  vaults  are  of  beautiful  architecture  and 
costly  workmanship. 

There  is  a  special  cemetery  for  criminals,  suicides,  atheists, 
duelists  and  others  who  die  outside  the  pale  of  the  church. 
There  are  a  great  many  free-thinkers  in  Peru.  They  are 
mostly  highly-educated  professional  men  who  have  left  the 
catholic  church  because  of  skepticism  and  do  not  find  greater 
satisfaction  in  protestantism.  Free-thinkers  are  found  in  the 
universities  and  the  learned  societies.  Their  leader  in  Peru  is 
a  Dutch  dentist  who  was  born  in  the  colony  of  Curacao,  in  the 
West  Indies,  and  bears  the  peculiar  name  of  Christian  Dam. 
Not  long  ago,  at  a  religious  celebration  at  Arequipa,  an  effigy 
was  made  which  bore  a  marked  resemblance  to  this  notorious 
person  and  was  filled  with  firecrackers  and  other  explosives. 
At  the  proper  time  the  fuse  was  lighted  and  the  effigy  blew 
into  fiery  fragments. 

Dueling  is  prohibited  by  law,  and  the  authorities  have 
endeavored  to  suppress  it  by  the  courts  as  well  as  by  the 
church.  Duels  were  frequent  in  former  years,  but  not  long 
ago  a  distressing  event  occurred  which  has  effectually  put  an 
end  to  that  method  of  settling  difficulties.  Two  gentlemen  of 
commercial  and  social  prominence  quarreled  over  a  seat  in  one 
of  the  plazas  during  a  band  concert,  and  the  next  morning 
met  with  their  seconds  and  a  surgeon  at  the  dueling  ground 
on  the  outskirts  of  the  city.  One  of  them  was  killed.  The 
survivor  was  arrested,  convicted  and  sentenced  to  seven  years* 
imprisonment.  The  seconds  and  the  surgeon  were  sentenced 
to  four  years  and  are  now  serving  time  in  the  penitentiary. 


XI 

THE  STATE  OF  THE  CHURCH 

The  constitution  of  Peru  declares  that  the  Apostolic  Cath- 
olic faith  is  the  religion  of  the  country,  and  that  no  other  form 
of  worship  shall  be  permitted  in  public.  There  are,  neverthe- 
less, two  protestant  churches,  one  in  Lima  and  one  in  Callao, 
maintained  by  the  English,  German  and  American  residents, 
and  a  Methodist  chapel  in  Lima  and  one  in  Callao,  where 
services  are  held  in  Spanish  two  nights  each  week.  The 
Anglo-American  church  is  supported  by  subscriptions  from  the 
foreign  residents.  The  Methodists  receive  some  assistance 
from  the  Board  of  Missions  in  New  York.  The  Spanish  services 
are  tolerated  by  the  government  on  the  theory  that  they  are 
privately  and  not  publicly  held,  and  this  pretense  is  strictly 
respected  by  requiring  every  native  who  attends  the  Methodist 
chapels  to  present  a  card  of  invitation  at  the  door.  These 
cards  are  issued  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Wood  and  his  native  assist- 
ants in  their  evangelical  work  to  all  natives  who  express  a 
desire  to  attend  the  protestant  church.  For  similar  reasons 
the  Anglo-American  churches  present  the  outward  appearance 
of  ordinary  buildings.  A  stranger  would  never  suspect  that 
he  was  passing  a  church  unless  he  entered  the  door.  Dr. 
Wood  contends,  however,  that  this  condition  is  not  necessary, 
and  is  ready  to  test  it  in  the  courts  whenever  he  can  obtain 
the  funds,  by  erecting  a  conventional  church  edifice  similar 
to  those  in  the  United  States.  The  Masonic  temple  in  Callao 
was  built  with  every  appearance  of  its  purpose,  notwithstand- 
ing the  objections  and  the  protests  of  the  priests,  the  police 
authorities  having  decided  that  such  a  building  could  not  be 
prohibited  so  long  as  it  was  owned  by  a  private  association. 
Dr.  Wood  thinks  this  offers  a  precedent  of  importance  to 
protestant  missionary  work  in  the  future.     There  are  also  in 

162 


THE   STATE   OF   THE   CHURCH  163 

Lima  and  Callao  a  number  of  Chinese  "Joss"  houses.  One  of 
them  adjoins  the  Methodist  chapel  in  Callao, — and  they  have 
never  been  interfered  with. 

The  only  time  protestant  worship  was  ever  interrupted  in 
Lima  was  during  the  "week  of  prayer"  designated  by  the 
international  evangelical  alliance  in  1899,  when  the  unusual 
number  of  services  at  the  Methodist  chapel  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  authorities.  They  were  accustomed  to  see 
the  native  protestants  or  "evangelicos,"  as  they  call  them, 
gather  twice  a  week  in  a  little  room  behind  the  great  monas- 
tery of  the  St.  Augustine  order,  but  when  meetings  were 
held  every  evening  suspicion  was  excited,  and  in  the  midst  of 
the  services  one  Saturday  night,  a  colonel  of  the  army,  who 
was  serving  as  a  captain  of  police  in  that  precinct,  entered  the 
chapel,  interrupted  Dr.  Wood's  discourse,  and  standing  by 
the  pulpit  declared  the  meeting  illegal  and  contrary  to  law 
and  good  order.  When  Dr.  Wood  expostulated  and  explained 
that  there  was  no  political  significance  to  the  gathering,  and 
that  it  was  intended  only  for  teaching  the  Bible, — laying  his 
hand  upon  the  book  to  emphasize  his  words,  the  colonel 
declared  that  the  Bible  itself  was  contrary  to  the  constitution 
of  Peru  and  ordered  the  people  out  of  the  room.  When  the 
thirty  men  and  twenty  women  present  had  departed.  Dr. 
Wood  claimed  immunity  from  interruption  and  arrest  on  the 
ground  that  the  chapel  was  his  private  property  and  that  the 
congregation  were  his  guests.  The  colonel  did  not  dispute 
this  statement,  but  declared  that  the  meetings  were  illegal  and 
could  not  be  continued. 

Soon  after  the  officer  left  the  room.  Dr.  Wood  extinguished 
the  lights,  locked  the  door  and  followed  him.  When  he  had 
reached  the  street  he  was  immediately  arrested  by  a  policeman 
who  had  been  stationed  outside  for  that  purpose,  and  taken 
to  the  Monserrat  Barracks,  the  police  headquarters,  where  he 
was  received  with  great  courtesy  and  escorted  to  a  room  not 
used  for  ordinary  prisoners,  but  as  a  dormitory  for  the  reserve 
police  when  they  were  off  duty.  The  men  of  his  congrega- 
tion followed  him  to  the  police  station,  and  to  one  of  them 
Dr.  Wood  gave  his  watch,  notebooks  and  a  message  to  his 


i64   BETWEEN  THE  ANDES  AND  THE   OCEAN 

family.  The  *'evangelicos"  offered  to  go  to  the  United  States 
legation  and  arouse  the  minister,  but  Dr.  Wood  desired  to 
test  his  rights  under  the  Peruvian  law  and  decided  not  to 
appeal  for  the  protection  of  his  government  except  in  a  great 
emergency. 

An  hour  later,  near  lo  o'clock,  Colonel  Juan  Toreco,  a 
well-known  and  influential  officer  of  the  Peruvian  army,  then 
attached  to  the  police  force,  came  in  and  explained  to  Dr. 
Wood  that  his  arrest  was  due  to  the  illegal  character  of  his 
meetings,  which  were  contrary  to  the  constitution  and  the  laws 
of  Peru.  He,  too,  explained  that  it  was  unlawful  to  teach  the 
Bible  or  preach  doctrines  that  differed  from  the  established 
religion  of  the  country,  and,  after  amiable  controversy,  offered 
to  discharge  Dr.  Wood  provided  he  would  agree  to  abandon 
his  evangelical  work.  Dr.  Wood  emphatically  declined,  on 
the  ground  that  he  preferred  to  test  his  rights  in  the  courts. 
Finally  Colonel  Toreco  offered  to  release  him  on  parole  until 
the  next  Monday — this  was  Saturday  night — and  in  the  mean- 
time consult  the  authorities.  He  was  very  polite  and  courte- 
ous, both  in  manners  and  conversation,  and  offered  Dr.  Wood 
refreshments  and  a  horse  to  ride  to  the  railway  station. 

The  Methodist  natives  had  all  been  notified  of  the  occur- 
rence, and  on  Sunday  assembled  at  the  chapel  in  large  num- 
bers. Dr.  Wood  related  his  experience,  announced  his 
intention  of  contesting  his  rights,  and  appointed  a  meeting 
for  every  night  from  that  date  until  further  notice  without 
concealment  or  any  departure  from  the  regular  customs  of  the 
congfregation. 

On  Monday  he  appeared  at  the  police  headquarters  accord- 
ing to  the  agreement,  and  had  another  pleasant  interview  with 
Colonel  Toreco,  who  requested  him  to  suspend  his  meetings 
until  the  authorities  could  make  an  investigation  and  decide 
the  question  of  their  legality.  This  he  refused  to  do,  and, 
having  prepared  himself  in  the  meantime,  submitted  an  argu- 
ment to  sustain  his  rights,  which,  in  brief  was  (i)  that  under 
the  constitution  no  one  can  be  prevented  from  doing  what  is 
not  prohibited  by  law;  (2)  that  the  constitution  guarantees 
the  protection  of  private  rights  and  the  sanctity  of  private 


1^ 


T^*^        OF  THB  '^ 

UNIVERSITY 
^CALIFO^ 


THE   STATE   OF   THE   CHURCH  165 

property  and  that  there  is  no  law  to  prohibit  him  from 
instructing  his  friends  in  the  Bible,  or  in  the  doctrine  of  pro- 
testantism, provided  it  is  not  done  in  a  public  manner.  He 
cited  the  action  of  the  Supreme  court  in  the  case  of  Francisco 
Pensoti,  an  agent  of  the  American  Bible  Society,  who,  in  1891, 
after  suffering  imprisonment  for  eight  months,  was  discharged 
from  custody  by  an  order  of  the  court  and  permitted  to  hold 
meetings  and  preach  the  gospel  privately.  The  decision  of 
the  court  in  that  case,  however,  was  negative,  rather  than  pos- 
itive, for  the  purpose  of  leaving  Mr.  Pensoti  no  ground  for  a 
claim  for  damages. 

Colonel  Toreco  finally  consented  to  release  Dr.  Wood  on 
permanent  parole  with  the  understanding  that  he  would  not 
commit  any  unlawful  act,  and  promised  to  attend  the  meet- 
ings in  order  that  he  might  determine  himself  whether  they 
were  illegal.  Dr.  Wood  gave  him  a  card  of  invitation  to  be 
presented  at  the  door.  The  Colonel  did  not  appear,  however, 
and  the  meetings  at  the  methodist  chapel  have  not  been 
interfered  with  since  in  any  way.  He  has  shown  more  than 
usual  cordiality  to  Dr.  Wood  when  they  have  met,  and  the 
arrest  and  the  parole  have  never  been  alluded  to.  It  was 
learned  afterward  that  the  police  authorities  were  severely 
rebuked  by  influential  politicians,  and  by  their  superiors  in  the 
government,  both  for  political  reasons  and  because  of  the 
probable  effect  upon  foreign  nations  and  the  efforts  of  the  gov- 
ernment to  promote  immigration  and  induce  foreign  capital 
to  engage  in  the  development  in  the  mines  and  other  natural 
resources  of  the  country.  It  is  admitted  that  the  religious 
intoleration  of  Peru  has  been  a  serious  drawback  in  this  devel- 
opment. Foreigners  will  not  go  where  they  are  not  allowed  to 
worship  in  their  own  way  and  educate  their  children  in  pro- 
testant  doctrines. 

In  1895  the  protestant  community  in  Trujillo,  an  important 
town  in  the  northern  part  of  the  republic,  was  prohibited 
from  holding  meetings  by  the  police,  who  denounced  them  as 
unlawful  and  brought  the  missionaries  before  the  criminal 
court.  But  after  a  brief  investigation  no  indictment  was 
found,  the  case  was  dropped,  and  no  further  interference  was 


i66    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

offered  until  1898,  when  the  government  officials  called 
informally  upon  the  missionaries  and  requested  them  to  sus- 
pend their  meetings  because  martial  law  had  been  declared, 
all  public  gatherings  had  been  prohibited,  and  it  was  feared 
that  trouble  might  be  caused  if  an  exception  was  made  in  favor 
of  the  protestants. 

Free  Masonry  is  prohibited  by  the  church  authorities,  but 
there  are  several  lodges  of  natives  as  well  as  foreigners  in 
Lima,  Callao  and  other  cities  of  the  republic.  Some  years  ago, 
during  the  progressive  period  in  Peru,  free  masonry  was  very 
popular  among  the  natives,  and  the  church  attempted  to  crush 
it  by  excommunication,  but  afterwards  decided  to  ignore  it  so 
far  as  possible,  although  masons  are  not  now  admitted  to  com- 
munion, and  cannot  be  buried  in  consecrated  ground.  The 
growth  of  masonry  was  stopped,  however,  when  a  dentist 
named  Dr.  Christian  Dam,  a  leader  of  the  atheistic  element, 
who  had  been  elected  grand  master  of  the  Peru  jurisdiction, 
banished  the  Bible  from  the  lodge  rooms  and  publicly 
denounced  it  as  a  fiction  concocted  by  superstitious  monks  in 
the  middle  ages.  This  created  a  profound  sensation,  and  both 
foreign  and  native  masons  dnade  a  protest  at  once.  The 
fraternity  was  divided.  Dr.  Dam  and  his  supporters  with- 
drew from  the  old  lodges  and  organized  new  ones.  The 
priests  utilized  the  incident  to  organize  a  crusade  against 
masonry,  and  tried  to  make  it  disreputable.  Christian  Dam 
left  Lima  and  went  to  Arequipa,  but  was  not  able  to  practice 
his  profession  of  dentistry  in  that  city  on  account  of  public 
prejudice  against  his  atheistical  views,  and  returned  to  Lima, 
where  he  is  now  living.  The  incident  is  being  forgotten,  and 
masonry  is  gradually  recovering  a  normal  condition,  but  is  not 
so  flourishing  as  formerly. 

Until  recently  the  courts  of  Peru  did  not  recognize  the 
legality  of  marriage  performed  outside  the  catholic  church. 
All  children  born  of  parents  who  had  been  married  by  protes- 
tant  clergymen  were  pronounced  illegitimate,  and  neither  they 
nor  the  wife  could  inherit  property  from  the  husband  and 
father.  No  marriage  was  considered  binding  unless  it  received 
the  blessing  of  a  catholic  priest.     The  same  conditions  for- 


THE   STATE  OF   THE   CHURCH  167 

merly  existed  in  all  the  Latin- American  countries,  but  now  only- 
Peru,  Ecuador  and  Colombia  reject  protestant  and  civil  mar- 
riages, and  in  most  of  the  others  civil  contracts  alone  are  legal, 
as  in  France.  The  couple  may  go  to  church  afterwards  if  they 
like  to  satisfy  their  religious  scruples  or  adhere  to  the  ancient 
custom,  but  it  is  not  necessary.  For  several  years  the  liberals 
have  been  trying  to  get  such  a  law  in  Peru,  but  have  found  it 
impossible.  The  next  step  was  the  passage  of  an  act  author- 
izing and  legalizing  protestant  and  civil  marriages  only  among 
the  foreign  and  non-catholic  population.  The  first  time  this  act 
was  passed,  about  two  years  ago,  it  was  vetoed  by  President 
Pierola.  Congress  passed  it  a  second  time  over  his  veto  by  the 
constitutional  two-thirds  majority,  and  Alexander  Romana,  a 
brother  of  President  Romana,  who  had  just  taken  the  position 
of  Minister  of  the  Interior  and  chief  of  the  cabinet,  insisted 
that  it  should  be  vetoed  a  second  time ;  but  the  remainder  of 
the  cabinet  and  the  supporters  of  the  administration  in  con- 
gress warned  Pierola  that  it  was  unsafe  for  him  to  defy  the 
legislative  branch  of  the  government,  and  so  he  signed  it ;  but 
Romana  resigned  rather  than  give  his  consent. 

The  spirit  and  the  letter  of  the  act  were  practically  nullified 
by  the  government  in  the  regulations  which  were  framed  to 
carry  it  into  effect.  It  pleased  President  Pierola  and  his 
advisors  to  construe  it  as  applying  to  protestants  only  and  civil 
magistrates  are  not  permitted  to  marry  catholics.  They  also 
officially  declared  that  all  natives  of  Peru,  all  persons  whose 
parents  were  catholics,  or  who  have  been  baptized  in  the 
catholic  church  or  educated  in  catholic  schools  are  catholics 
under  the  law.  They  argue  that  the  catholic  religion  being 
the  constitutional  faith  of  the  republic,  all  citizens  must  neces- 
sarily accept  that  religion.  Therefore  the  civil  marriage  law 
is  operative  only  for  the  benefit  of  foreigners  who  have  been 
brought  up  in  the  protestant  faith.  For  example,  when  a 
young  Englishman  and  the  daughter  of  an  Italian  merchant  in 
Lima  desired  to  be  married  by  a  civil  ceremony,  their  request 
was  denied  because  the  young  lady  had  been  educated  in  the 
San  Pedro  convent,  and  therefore  must  be  a  catholic. 

The  alcalde  of  Callao,  where  a  large  proportion  of  the  pop- 


i68   BETWEEN   THE  ANDES  AND  THE  OCEAN 

Illation  are  foreigners,  whose  children  are  constantly  being- 
inter-married  with  the  families  of  natives,  in  1899  asked 
the  government  for  a  reconsideration  of  its  construction  of  the 
law,  but  the  cabinet  paid  no  attention  to  his  appeal.  The 
alcalde  asked :  Who  shall  judge  whether  a  person  who  applies 
to  be  married  is  entitled  to  the  benefits  of  the  law?  Who  shall 
determine  whether  he  or  she  is  a  catholic  or  not?  He  argued 
that  people  who  are  old  enough  to  be  married  ought  to  be  able 
to  decide  what  religious  faith  they  adhere  to,  and  if  the  appli- 
cant declares  that  he  or  she  is  not  a  catholic,  by  what  right  can 
a  magistrate  refuse  to  marry  them  under  the  civil  law?  The 
minister  of  the  interior  replied  that  all  Peruvians  are  catholics, 
and  that  the  alcalde  need  ask  no  other  question  after  he  has 
ascertained  the  place  of  birth  and  parentage. 

The  authorities  also  framed  regulations  which  make  it  diffi- 
cult and  disagreeable  for  people  to  take  advantage  of  the  civil 
marriage  law,  and  many  who  otherwise  would  have  done  so 
have  been  deterred  in  order  to  avoid  the  notoriety  and  pub- 
licity which  is  necessary. 

It  is  asserted  that  more  than  50  per  cent  of  the  children 
bom  in  Peru  are  illegitimate,  chiefly  among  the  poorer  classes. 
This  is  accounted  for  by  the  excessive  fees  required  by  the 
priests,  which  place  marriage  beyond  the  reach  of  the  cholos 
or  peasants.  The  fees  fixed  by  canon  law  are  $1  or  $1.50  for 
the  publication  of  the  bans,  $6  or  $10  for  performing  the  cere- 
mony, and  $3  or  $5.50  for  a  nuptial  mass,  if  that  is  desired. 
The  difference  in  the  fees  is  regulated  by  the  elaborateness  of 
the  ceremony,  but  it  is  expressly  provided  that  members  of 
the  church  who  are  too  poor  to  pay  these  fees  shall  be  married 
for  nothing,  so  that  the  fault  lies  with  the  priests  if  such  con- 
ditions exist  as  are  described. 

St.  Peter  said :  "Thy  money  perish  with  thee ;  because  thou 
hast  thought  that  the  gift  of  God  may  be  purchased  with 
money;"  but  if  a  poor  sinner  in  South  America  wants  consola- 
tion he  must  pay  for  it.  If  he  wants  absolution  he  must  offer 
so  many  dollars  as  well  as  so  many  prayers.  The  ordinary 
priests  will  not  visit  the  sick  or  administer  the  sacrament  to 
the  dying  unless  they  are  paid  in  advance,  and  masses  for  the 


THE   STATE   OF   THE   CHURCH  169 

dead  are  never  celebrated  except  for  fees.  The  marriage  fees 
imposed  by  the  priests  are  too  large  for  the  poor  to  pay,  hence 
the  majority  of  the  population  are  living  as  husbands  and  wives 
without  the  sanction  of  the  church,  and  the  great  mass  of 
children  are  illegitimate,  perhaps  as  many  as  60  or  70  per  cent. 
Pecuniary  penance  is  imposed  at  the  confessional  so  frequently 
that  it  is  not  even  a  matter  of  comment,  and  people  always 
expect  to  pay  a  fee  when  they  seek  the  intercession  of  the 
Virgin  and  the  saints.  The  blessing  of  the  Virgin  of  Copoco- 
bana  in  Bolivia  is  sold  just  like  the  bread  and  chicha  and  the 
knicknacks  on  the  plaza  in  front  of  her  shrine.  The  priests 
must  have  money  and  contrive  many  ingenious  methods  of 
getting  it.  In  Costa  Rica  some  years  ago,  they  sold  reserved 
seats  in  heaven  and '  furnished  certificates  to  the  purchaser 
designating  the  place  he  and  his  family  would  occupy  for  all 
eternity.  You  can  find  such  certificates  hanging  in  frames 
upon  the  walls  of  some  of  the  best  houses  in  that  republic. 

In  Quito  and  other  cities  of  South  America  it  is  possible  to 
communicate  in  writing  with  the  Savior,  or  the  Blessed  Vir- 
gin, or  any  of  the  saints,  and  upon  the  payment  of  a  liberal 
fee  the  monks  will  obtain  replies  to  the  communications,  just 
as  the  ancient  Greeks  besought  advice  from  their  hidden 
Oracles.  At  the  Jesuit  Convent  of  San  Luis  de  Gonzaga  in 
Lima,  not  long  ago,  there  was  a  letter  box  hanging  in  the 
portico  to  receive  communications  addressed  to  the  Savior,  the 
Holy  Mother  and  the  Saints,  and  it  was  as  common  for  the 
people  of  that  city  to  write  them  letters  beseeching  sympathy 
and  succor  as  it  is  for  the  children  of  the  United  States  at 
Christmas  time  to  write  Santa  Claus  for  the  toys  they  crave. 
If  a  certain  amount  of  money  was  enclosed,  the  communica- 
tions were  answered  by  the  saints  to  whom  they  were  addressed ; 
if  not  they  received  no  attention. 

Although  the  sale  of  indulgences  has  been  forbidden  by  the 
church  for  several  centuries,  the  practice  is  still  continued  in 
the  interior  villages  of  Colombia,  Ecuador,  Peru  and  Bolivia, 
and  perhaps  in  some  of  the  other  countries ;  and  it  is  not  only 
possible  to  purchase  absolution  for  the  living,  but  also  peace 
for  the  dead.     A  soul  may  be  translated  from  purgatory  to 


I70   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

paradise  at  almost  any  time  by  the  payment  of  a  fee.  The 
priest  celebrates  a  mass  at  the  church,  and  then  goes  to  the 
cemetery  and  utters  what  is  called  a  "response "  before  the 
tomb  of  the  person  in  question. 

In  the  interior  of  Peru  and  Bolivia  a  popular  method  of 
raising  money  is  by  what  is  called  a  "Loteria  de  los  Perdidos" 
(Lottery  of  Lost  Souls).  In  some  localities  this  practice  is  as 
common  as  church  fairs  and  Sunday-school  picnics  or  Christ- 
mas trees  with  us.  A  given  number  of  tickets  are  issued  by 
the  priest  and  offered  for  sale  to  the  public  through  the  women 
and  children  of  the  congregation,  and  the  sacristan  of  the 
church.  They  are  often  exposed  for  sale  in  saloons  and 
cigar  booths,  and  I  have  seen  them  peddled  on  the  street  like 
ordinary  lottery  tickets  for  a  commission.  On  the  day  of  the 
drawing  everybody  interested  goes  to  the  church,  and  after  a 
brief  service  a  cask  is  brought  out  and  placed  on  a  table  before 
the  altar.  The  cask  is  whirled  around  until  the  cards  it  con- 
tains are  well  shaken  up,  when  a  little  child  dressed  like  an 
angel,  with  wings  and  a  crown  of  flowers,  a  great  deal  of  tulle, 
white  shoes  and  white  gloves,  appears.  She  dips  her  little 
hand  into  the  barrel  and  draws  out  as  many  cards  as  there  are 
prizes.  Persons  holding  the  numbers  that  appear  on  these 
cards  are  entitled  to  select  some  soul  that  has  been  suffering 
in  purgatory  less  than  one  year  for  translation  to  paradise.  A 
few  days  later  the  people  who  hold  the  tickets  contribute  to  a 
purse  which  pays  the  priest  for  celebrating  high  mass,  which 
is  often  attended  with  pompous  ceremonies.  At  the  conclusion 
of  the  mass  a  procession  is  formed  with  the  effigy  of  the  Vir- 
gin carried  upon  a  litter  in  advance,  and  when  the  cemetery  is 
reached  the  priest  sprinkles  the  graves  with  holy  water  and 
utters  a  "responso"  to  release  the  souls  that  have  been  named. 

This  is  an  actual  and  common  occurrence  in  certain  local- 
ities, and  travelers  who  have  the  curiosity  to  investigate  such 
things  can  find  other  practices  quite  as  extraordinary,  which 
are  not  even  notorious,  because  the  people  are  so  accustomed 
to  them.  These  practices  are  known  at  Rome,  and  have  fre- 
quently been  the  subject  of  serious  consideration  at  the  Vat- 
ican, but  the  church  authorities  are  powerless  to  correct  customs 


THE   STATE   OF  THE   CHURCH  171 

that  are  the  growth  of  ignorance  and  superstition  on  the  part 
of  the  people  and  cupidity  on  the  part  of  the  priests.  It  is 
not  always  the  bishops,  but  usually  the  parish  priests  that  are 
responsible,  and  they  justify  such  practices  on  the  ground  that 
they  are  necessary  to  raise  the  funds  for  the  support  of  the 
church  and  stimulate  the  interest  of  the  people  in  religion. 

An  eminent  prelate  in  South  America  defended  these  prac- 
tices to  me  not  long  ago,  and  declared  they  were  quite  as 
legitimate  as  the  social  features  of  religious  life  in  North 
America.  He  contended  that  the  church  processions  and 
other  peculiar  features  in  South  America  were  absolutely  nec- 
essary in  order  to  satisfy  the  peons,  who,  if  the  church  did  not 
furnish  them  such  diversions  would  indulge  in  others  even 
more  reprehensible. 

"Of  course,"  he  said,  *'I  do  not  believe  in  many  of  the 
practices  that  prevail  here,  but  I  do  not  forbid  them  because 
I  know  that  they  are  necessary.  The  ignorant  people  of  these 
countries  are  fond  of  demonstrations  in  which  they  can  partic- 
ipate, and  it  does  them  more  good  to  carry  a  banner  and  walk 
in  a  procession  than  you  can  imagine.  If  the  church  does  not 
provide  such  amusements  the  politicians  will  do  so,  and  it  is 
very  important  that  we  keep  our  people  under  our  own  control. " 

In  almost  every  household  is  a  wooden  image  of  some  saint 
to  which  its  inmates  offer  prayers  and  adoration,  but,  if  the 
blessings  they  pray  for  are  not  realized,  they  lose  their  patience 
and  punish  the  saint  as  if  it  was  a  naughty  child.  They  strip 
the  wooden  image  of  its  finery,  beat  it  with  sticks,  souse  it  in 
a  tub  of  filthy  water,  lock  it  up  in  a  dark  closet,  and  use  other 
means  of  coercion  until  it  is  willing  to  answer  their  prayers. 

Saint  Isador  is  the  patron  saint  of  agriculture,  and  in  almost 
every  farming  village  a  chapel  or  a  shrine  has  been  erected  in 
his  honor.  Before  planting  and  before  harvest,  and  at  various 
times  during  the  season,  those  who  have  crops  in  the  ground 
place  money  and  other  votive  offerings  upon  the  altar,  and 
make  '*beatos,"  or  **mandas,"  two  different  kinds  of  vows,  and 
pray  for  his  intercession.  After  compliance  with  these  require- 
ments, if  their  crops  fail,  they  revenge  themselves  by  beating 
or  stoning  him.     If  it  rains  too  little  or  too  much,  it  is  cus- 


172*  BETWEEN   THE   ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

tomary  to  propitiate  the  saint  by  taking  the  image  from  the 
altar  and  carrying  it  through  the  streets  trimmed  with  gay 
muslins  and  artificial  flowers,  accompanied  by  a  band  of  music ; 
but  if  this  adoration  is  not  effective,  if  the  drought  continues, 
they  try  another  method,  and  drag  the  wooden  effigy  through 
the  streets  with  a  rope  around  its  neck,  kicking  it,  beating  it 
with  sticks,  and  pelting  it  with  stones.  The  village  priests 
often  assist  at  these  performances,  and  always  encourage  or 
at  least  permit  them. 

On  the  5th  of  May,  1848,  there  occurred  at  Santiago,  Chile, 
a  most  disastrous  earthquake.  The  morning  of  that  day  a 
woman  who  had  become  disgusted  with  the  refusal  of  her  saint 
to  answer  her  prayers,  tore  the  image  from  the  altar,  stripped 
it  of  its  decorations,  and  threw  it  into  the  street.  At  that 
moment  the  earthquake  began,  and  it  continued  until  a  priest, 
hurrying  to  a  place  of  safety,  picked  up  the  image  and  carried 
it  into  a  neighboring  church,  where  he  reverently  placed  it 
upon  the  altar.  At  that  moment  the  earthquake  ceased,  and 
to  this  day  the  people  and  the  clergy,  and  formerly  the  officials 
of  the  government,  celebrate  the  5th  of  May  as  a  holiday, 
second  only  in  importance  to  the  i8th  of  September,  which  is 
their  Fourth  of  July.  This  effigy  was  formerly  taken  from  its 
altar  and  carried  through  the  streets  under  a  scarlet  canopy, 
followed  by  the  president  of  the  republic  and  his  cabinet,  the 
members  of  congress  and  the  judiciary,  the  archbishop,  the 
bishops  and  other  prelates  of  the  church,  and  by  thousands  of 
people,  with  bands  of  music  and  banners,  and  usually  a  regi- 
ment of  military  as  an  escort  of  honor.  All  the  business 
houses  were  closed ;  work  was  suspended  in  all  the  factories, 
and  everybody  joined  in  paying  honor  to  a  wooden  effigy 
which  was  called  Saint  Cinco  de  Mayo  (St.  5th  of  May), 
because  the  woman  who  threw  it  into  the  street  and  her  family 
were  killed  in  the  earthquake,  and  it  was  impossible  to  ascer- 
tain what  particular  saint  it  was  originally  intended  to  repre- 
sent. 

Since  the  separation  of  church  and  state  in  Chile,  however, 
this  anniversary  has  lost  much  of  its  importance,  and  is  no 
longer  celebrated  as  a  national  holiday.      Nevertheless,  the 


THE   STATE   OF  THE   CHURCH  173 

church  teaches  that  such  propitiation  of  the  unknown  wooden 
image  is  necessary  to  prevent  a  recurrence  of  the  awful  catas- 
trophe of  1848. 

A  great  deal  of  curiosity  was  excited  all  over  the  world  as 
to  the  purpose  of  the  convocation  of  the  bishops  and  arch- 
bishops of  the  catholic  church  in  South  America,  which  was 
called  at  Rome  in  the  summer  of  1899,  although  it  was  not  an 
unusual  event  in  ecclesiastical  history.  On  the  contrary,  it  is 
customary  for  His  Holiness  to  call  together  the  prelates  of 
different  sections  of  the  world  at  intervals  in  order  to  confer 
with  them  concerning  ecclesiastical  affairs,  but  this  was  the 
first  time  the  prelates  of  South  America  were  ever  invited  to 
the  Vatican,  and  there  are  reasons  for  believing  that  the 
meeting  was  one  of  uncommon  importance.  Its  general  pur- 
pose is  supposed  to  have  been  the  reformation  or  moderniza- 
tion,  so  to  speak,  of  the  church  in  South  America,  where  it  has 
failed  to  keep  pace  with  the  progress  of  civilization,  and  for 
that  reason  has  largely  lost  the  support  of  the  educated  and 
progressive  classes.  There  is  as  much  difference  between  the 
catholic  church  in  South  America  and  the  catholic  church  in 
North  America  as  between  the  African-methodist  church  of 
Mississippi  and  the  unitarian  church  of  Massachusetts,  and 
the  ignorance  and  superstition  and  the  moral  corruption  of  the 
priests  have  driven  the  intellectual  element  of  the  population 
into  materialism. 

In  every  one  of  the  Latin- American  countries,  from  Mexico 
southward,  the  clergy  have  persistently  opposed  the  education 
of  the  people  and  the  introduction  of  modern  improvements, 
and  have  endeavored  to  continue  the  intolerance  of  the  fif- 
teenth century.  The  result  has  been  to  make  the  church  a 
political  issue  and  to  divide  the  people  into  two  factions, — the 
liberals  and  the  conservatives,  as  they  call  themselves,  or  the 
** clericals,"  as  they  are  called  by  their  opponents.  In  nearly 
all  the  countries  the  clerical  party  has  been  overthrown  and  the 
liberal  party  is  in  power.  The  latter  gradually  grows  stronger 
as  the  people  become  enlightened.  Therefore,  the  more  pro- 
gressive prelates  of  South  America  have  been  endeavoring  to 
liberalize   the  church   as  much  as  possible,  for  they  believe 


174   BETWEEN   THE  ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

that  such  a  change  is  necessary  before  it  can  regain  suprem- 
acy. Wherever  there  is  a  liberal  government,  the  orders  of 
religious  seclusion  have  been  suppressed,  the  schools  have 
been  secularized,  the  rite  of  civil  marriage  has  been  adopted, 
the  property  of  the  church  has  been  confiscated,  and  the  peo- 
ple generally  have  drifted  away  from  the  religious  training  of 
their  fathers.  Educated  men  do  not  attend  church ;  they  neg- 
lect the  confessional  and  other  religious  duties;  join  lodges  of 
free  masons,  and  encourage  the  publication  of  atheistical  liter- 
ature. This  tendency  has  been  increasing  so  rapidly  as  to  give 
great  concern  to  the  hierarchy,  and  the  convocation  at  Rome 
was  called  for  the  purpose  of  discussing  measures  to  resist  and 
correct  it.  Sooner  or  later,  the  details  of  the  conference  will 
become  known,  but  at  present  they  are  only  matters  of  specu- 
lation. 

One  of  the  most  important  events  of  an  ecclesiastical  nature 
that  has  recently  occurred  in  South  America  took  place  in  the 
summer  of  1899,  and  was  the  first  direct  result  of  the  con- 
vocation. This  was  the  restoration  of  the  archbishop  of  the 
Argentine  republic  and  the  renewal  of  relations  between  the 
government  of  that  country  and  the  Vatican,  which  had  been 
suspended  for  sixteen  years.  In  1884  a  parish  priest  at  Rosario 
threatened  to  excommunicate  the  parents  of  5^oung  ladies  who 
attended  a  normal  school  taught  by  Miss  Clara  Armstrong,  of 
Winona,  Minn.  It  was  a  government  school,  under  the  super- 
vision of  the  Minister  of  Education,  for  the  purpose  of  educat- 
ing teachers  for  the  public  schools  of  the  country,  and  although 
Miss  Armstrong  was  a  protestant,  she  never  attempted  to  teach 
or  even  discuss  religious  questions  before  her  pupils.  Never- 
theless, the  priests  held  that  catholic  families  should  not  allow 
their  daughters  to  remain  under  the  instruction  of  a  protestant, 
but  should  send  them  to  the  regularly  established  church 
schools,  and  as  they  declined  to  do  so,  he  adopted  extreme 
measures,  and  placed  them  under  the  ban. 

Miss  Armstrong  reported  the  matter  to  the  Minister  of 
Education,  who  made  an  investigation  and  sustained  her,  and 
complained  to  the  archbishop  that  the  priest  at  Rosario  was 
interfering  with  matters  that  did  not  concern  him.     The  arch- 


THE   STATE   OF  THE   CHURCH  175 

bishop  sustained  the  priest,  and  the  papal  nuncio  sustained 
the  archbishop,  who  issued  a  decree  forbidding  the  chil- 
dren of  catholic  families  to  attend  schools  taught  by  pro- 
testant  teachers.  General  Roca,  who  was  president  of  the 
Argentine  Republic  then  as  he  is  now,  expelled  the  archbishop 
and  the  papal  nuncio  from  the  country  for  interfering  with 
political  and  secular  affairs,  and  issued  a  proclamation,  warn- 
ing the  priests  of  the  country  that  they  must  not  meddle  with 
the  public  schools. 

From  that  date  until  the  summer  of  1899  there  were  no 
relations  whatever  between  the  Vatican  and  the  Argentine 
Republic,  but  President  Roca  when  re-elected  responded  cor- 
dially to  the  overtures  of  the  church,  and  entered  into  an 
arrangement  for  the  return  of  the  nuncio  and  the  restoration 
of  the  archbishop  upon  a  broad  and  liberal  understanding  that 
they  and  the  priests  of  the  country  shall  devote  their  entire 
attention  to  the  spiritual  condition  of  the  people,  and  not 
interfere  in  political  or  secular  matters. 

Another  result  expected  from  the  convocation  is  the 
appointment  of  a  cardinal  to  supervise  the  affairs  of  the  church 
in  South  America. 

Shortly  after  the  convocation  a  cablegram  sent  to  the  news- 
papers from  Rome  contained  a  copy  of  an  encyclical  alleged  to 
have  been  issued  by  the  Pope  absolving  the  clergy  of  the 
Latin-American  countries  from  their  vows  of  chastity  and 
celibacy.  It  is  universally  pronounced  a  forgery,  but  at  the 
same  time  persons  familiar  with  the  history  of  the  church  sug- 
gested that  it  might  perhaps  be  founded  upon  a  meager  basis 
of  facts. 

Two  centuries  ago  or  more  the  bishops  and  priests  of  South 
America  applied  to  the  Pope  for  a  release  from  such  vows,  but 
after  due  consideration  it  was  decided  that  he  had  no  power  to 
grant  absolution  to  any  one  engaged  in  the  ministry.  During 
the  Napoleonic  regime  in  France  the  emperor  issued  an  edict 
releasing  the  clergy  from  vows  of  celibacy,  and  a  great  many 
bishops  and  priests  married,  including  Prince  Talleyrand. 
After  the  restoration  of  the  church  this  offered  a  serious  dilem- 
ma, and  the  Holy  Father  granted  the  necessary  absolution  to 


176    BETWEEN   THE  ANDES   AND   THE  OCEAN 

all  priests  and  bishops  who  had  married  wives  and  legitima- 
tized their  children,  providing  they  left  the  ministry.  Married 
priests  who  remained  in  the  ministry  were  divorced.  The 
church  allowed  them  freedom  of  choice  between  the  pulpit 
and  the  married  life,  without  attempting  to  influence  them 
either  way,  and  gave  an  unrestricted  benediction  upon  the 
decision  of  every  clergyman  who  had  married  under  the  license 
of  Napoleon. 

It  has  frequently  been  asserted  by  prominent  prelates  of 
Latin-America  that  the  intellectual  and  moral  standing  of  the 
clergy  cannot  be  advanced  unless  marriage  is  permitted 
because  the  better  class  of  young  men  will  not  take  the  vows 
of  celibacy  and  are  therefore  kept  out  of  the  priesthood,  while 
those  who  have  less  conscience  enter  it  and  violate  them.  But 
the  church  has  decided  that  the  pope  has  no  power  to  grant 
such  absolution,  and  the  bishops  could  not  have  recommended 
anything  further  than  to  offer  absolution  to  those  priests  who 
now  have  families,  provided  they  leave  them  or  leave  the  min- 
istry, as  was  done  in  France  a  hundred  years  ago. 


XII 

THE  MONKS  AND  THE  MONASTERIES 

One  Sunday  afternoon  I  attended  an  impressive  ceremony 
at  the  national  penitentiary  of  Peru,  when  Bishop  Medina  of 
Trujillo  confirmed  in  the  catholic  communion  fifteen  Chinese 
convicts — **Asiaticos  infideles,"  as  he  called  them — and  one 
American,  who  was  serving  seven  years'  time  for  having 
attempted  to  set  fire  to  a  schooner  at  Mollendo  some  years  ago. 
He  says  that  he  was  drunk  and  did  not  know  what  he  was 
doing,  and  that  he  tried  to  put  the  fire  out  as  soon  as  he 
realized  the  enormity  of  his  act.  He  has  been  an  exemplary 
prisoner,  and  is  allowed  unusual  liberties.  Having  learned 
the  Spanish  language,  he  is  employed  as  an  interpreter  and 
messenger  about  the  office  of  the  warden,  and  conducted  us 
through  the  institution,  which  is  modeled  upon  the  Moyamen- 
sing  prison  of  Philadelphia,  and  is  one  of  the  most  complete, 
well-kept  and  humane  reformatories  in  South  America. 

The  prisoners  are  employed  in  workshops  during  the  day, 
as  in  our  own  prisons,  except  such  as  are  sentenced  to  solitary 
confinement  or  are  under  discipline.  They  make  boots  and 
shoes,  saddles,  harness  and  similar  goods  for  the  army,  and 
are  paid  for  what  they  produce,  so  that  each  one  has  a  consid- 
erable balance  of  money  to  his  credit  when  he  is  discharged — 
usually  sufficient  to  maintain  him  until  he  can  find  honest 
employment.  At  night  they  are  shut  in  their  cells,  which 
open  upon  long  corridors  that  run  like  the  spokes  of  a  wheel 
from  the  central  guardroom,  where  officers  are  always  sta- 
tioned. By  turning  in  his  chair  a  guard  can  inspect  every 
corridor.  All  the  cells  in  the  same  row  are  locked  with  a 
single  lever,  and  the  prisoners  move  out  and  in,  rise  and 
retire,  prepare  themselves  for  their  meals  and  the  duties  of  the 
day  to  the  sound  of  a  bugle. 

177 


178   BETWEEN  THE  ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

They  are  called  at  6  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  furnished 
with  tin  cups  of  coffee  and  rolls  of  white  bread,  which  are 
carried  in  buckets  and  baskets  to  the  cells.  They  then  go  to 
prayers  in  a  circular  chapel  which  occupies  the  dome  of  the 
buildmg.  From  there  they  march  in  single  file  with  lockstep 
to  the  workshops,  and  remain  employed  until  ii  o'clock,  when 
they  are  given  a  hearty  meal  of  boiled  or  roasted  beef,  mutton 
or  some  other  meat,  two  vegetables  and  plenty  of  bread.  At 
six  o'clock  they  have  another  meal  of  lighter  food,  and  for 
both  they  sit  at  long  tables,  which  occupy  the  center  of  each 
corridor.  Each  prisoner  has  a  tin  cup,  a  tin  plate  and  a  knife, 
a  fork  and  a  spoon.  The  waiters,  the  cooks  and  all  other 
attendants  are  prisoners  detailed  for  that  duty  The  commis- 
sioners say  the  food  is  so  good  and  so  abundant  that  it  is  a 
great  temptation  for  destitute  and  lazy  criminals  to  commit 
crimes  that  will  send  them  back  to  an  institution  in  which 
they  are  much  better  clothed,  fed  and  cared  for  than  when  at 
liberty.  This  criticism  has  frequently  been  made,  and  the 
labor  unions  are  now  endeavoring  to  secure  an  act  of  congress 
prohibiting  the  employment  of  prisoners  on  any  labor  that  will 
come  in  competition  with  honest  artisans  outside. 

Over  the  arched  entrance  of  each  corridor  and  each  work- 
shop in  large  letters  are  these  words : 

"SILENCIO.     OBEDIENCIA.     TRABAJO." 

which  is  the  sum  and  substance  of  the  regulations  of  the  insti- 
tution: **  Silence.     Obedience.     Industry." 

Nearly  80  per  cent  of  the  prisoners  are  Indians,  either  full- 
bloods  or  half-breeds,  with  a  considerable  sprinkling  of  Chi- 
nese, who  constitute  about  50,000  of  the  population  of  Peru, 
and  all  come  from  the  most  ignorant  classes.  I  saw  three  or 
four  white  men  who  are  in  for  murder.  In  addition  to  the 
regular  discipline  of  the  institution  the  spiritual  condition  of 
the  prisoners  is  given  careful  attention  by  the  monks  of  the 
Descalsos,  or  barefooted  brotherhood.  The  Chinese  are 
attended  by  priests  of  their  own  race.  There  are  three  or  four 
Chinese  catholic  priests  in  Lima,  all  of  whom  came  to  this 
country  as  laborers,  were  converted,  educated  and  fitted  for 


THE   MONKS   AND   THE   MONASTERIES       179 

the  priesthood.  They  labor  among  the  Chinese  population 
in  the  city  and  on  the  plantations  near  by,  but  not  exclusively. 
One  of  them  is  connected  with  a  prominent  parish  church. 

The  rules  of  the  prison  prohibit  torture.  The  means  of 
discipline  are  solitary  confinement,  dark  cells,  bread  and  water, 
what  are  known  as  the  **bars,"  which  keep  a  man  in  a  stand- 
ing posture,  and  the  dropping  of  water  upon  a  stone,  which  is 
the  most  severe  of  all  in  its  effects  upon  the  nerves  and  men- 
tal faculties,  and  is  only  used  as  a  last  resort.  There  used  to 
be  a  great  deal  of  cruelty  in  the  prisons  of  South  America 
some  years  ago,  and  the  police  are  still  guilty  of  brutal  prac- 
tices, not  only  upon  persons  who  are  arrested  for  prime,  but 
also  upon  witnesses  who  refuse  to  testify  against  their  friends, 
and  other  persons  who  are  arrested,  either  on  suspicion  or  for 
the  purpose  of  securing  information. 

The  laws  of  the  country  prohibit  this  under  severe  penal- 
ties, and  the  chief  of  police  of  Lima  is  now  under  investigation 
by  the  courts  for  violating  them.  Some  time  ago  a  man  of  the 
name  of  Fidel  Carceres,  a  tailor  of  Lima,  while  detained  as  a 
prisoner  in  one  of  the  police  stations,  witnessed  the  torture  of 
a  woman,  and  when  he  was  released  gave  the  information  to 
the  newspapers,  which  denounced  the  authorities  for  permit- 
ting such  an  outrage,  whereupon  Carceres  was  again  arrested 
and  confined  in  a  dark  cell  without  ventilation  or  drainage. 
He  was  convicted  on  some  fictitious  charge  and  sent  to  jail. 
After  his  liberation  he  reported  his  experience  to  the  labor 
unions,  which  took  up  the  matter  and  preferred  charges  against 
the  police  of  Lima  for  false  imprisonment  and  for  the  torture 
of  the  woman  referred  to.  The  chief  is  now  under  bonds  to 
appear  before  the  Criminal  courts,  with  several  officers  who 
are  implicated  with  him. 

Horrible  tales  are  told  of  outrages  inflicted  upon  prisoners 
by  local  police  in  the  country  towns  and  villages,  but  the 
national  authorities  make  careful  investigations  whenever 
charges  are  preferred,  and  punish  the  guilty  severely. 

There  is  a  separate  prison  for  women,  which  is  in  charge  of 
the  sisters  of  charity. 

The  chapel  of  the  penitentiary  is  a  noble  room  of  circular 


i8o   BETWEEN   THE  ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

form,  with  a  high  dome,  and  in  the  center,  surrounded  by  an 
iron  railing,  is  a  well  which  extends  to  the  guardroom  below. 
That  is  now  covered  with  an  iron  grating,  because  some  years 
ago,  while  the  prisoners  were  engaged  in  religious  exercises, 
a  mutiny  broke  out  and  the  guards  were  thrown  over  and  fell 
seventy  feet  upon  the  pavement  below. 

The  altar  is  handsomely  decorated.  Bishop  Medina 
appeared  in  his  richest  episcopal  robes  at  the  services  that  Sun- 
day. He  was  assisted  by  three  monks  from  the  Descalsos 
monastery,  by  whom  the  prisoners  had  been  converted. 
These  monks  were  types  of  the  best  blood  of  Peru,  and  in 
their  manners  and  demeanor  they  showed  their  gentle  breed- 
ing. One  of  them,  Friar  Saavedra,  is  considered  among  the 
handsomest  men  in  Peru,  and  might  sit  for  a  portrait  of  St. 
Anthony  of  Padua.  He  belongs  to  one  of  the  old  patrician 
families  of  Lima,  and  his  father  was  appraiser  of  merchandise 
in  the  custom  house  at  Callao  until  he  was  killed  by  accident 
several  years  ago.  A  packing  case  filled  with  explosives  was 
accidentally  dropped  and  cost  the  lives  of  six  men.  Ailother 
of  the  monks  was  Friar  Chaco-Montufar,  of  an  eminent  family 
of  Trujillo,  which  has  produced  some  of  the  most  famous  men 
in  the  republic.     One  of  his  brothers  is  a  general  in  the  army. 

These  men  are  highly  respected  for  their  piety  and  their 
self-abnegation,  as  well  as  for  their  ability  and  their  lineage. 
They  have  devoted  their  lives  to  the  relief  of  the  poor  and  to 
work  among  convicts.  Every  one  speaks  in  admiration  of  the 
devotion  of  the  Descalsos  monks  to  the  poor,  the  hungry  and 
the  sick.  They  sacrifice  all  their  worldly  goods  when  they 
enter  the  order  and  live  entirely  upon  alms.  Every  day  they 
feed  200  or  300  people  at  the  monastery,  which  stands  on  the 
outskirts  of  the  city,  for  which  funds  are  contributed  by  benev- 
olent people  who  know  of  the  good  they  are  doing.  I  was  told 
yesterday  that  Friar  Saavedra  could  raise  more  money  for 
charity  among  the  wealthy  classes  of  Lima  than  the  archbishop 
himself,  and  that  when  he  called  upon  a  merchant  or  a  banker 
for  financial  assistance  his  purpose  was  never  inquired  into  and 
his  request  was  never  refused. 

The  charitable  institutions  of  Lima,  the  hospitals  and  asy- 


THE   MONKS  AND  THE   MONASTERIES       i8i 

lums,  are  in  charge  of  a  commission  of  laymen  appointed  by 
the  government,  and  the  attendants  are  Descalsos  monks  and 
sisters  of  charity.  The  funds  are  obtained  by  subscription  and 
a  lottery  which  has  drawings  twice  a  week  in  Lima  and  once 
a  week  in  Callao.  Tickets  are  sold  at  the  cigar  stands  and  at 
other  shops  and  by  peddlers,  who  are  very  numerous  on  the 
street.  They  haunt  the  plaza  and  other  public  squares,  and 
are  as  vociferous  and  active  as  newsboys  in  the  cities  of  North 
America.  Once  a  week  there  is  usually  a  grand  prize  of 
$5,000,  with  smaller  prizes  in  proportion,  running  down  as  low 
as  $10.  The  drawings  are  supervised  by  a  committee  from 
the  benevolent  society,  which  sits  behind  a  table  in  a  canvas 
booth  and  upon  a  high  platform  where  it  can  be  seen  by  every- 
body interested.  Ivory  balls  bearing  the  numbers  are  placed 
in  a  barrel  which  swings  on  pivots.  After  they  are  well 
shaken  up  the  bunghole  is  opened  and  an  urchin  from  the 
street  is  called  up,  who  thrusts  in  his  hand  and  draws  out  the 
ball  which  represents  the  capital  prize.  The  barrel  is  again 
shaken  up  and  the  other  prizes  are  drawn  in  order.  The  suc- 
cessful numbers  are  announced  in  a  loud  voice  and  published 
in  the  evening  papers,  and  the  prizes  are  paid  the  next  day  at 
the  office  of  the  society,  which  occupies  a  handsome  building 
in  one  of  the  principal  streets. 

Private  lotteries  are  not  permitted,  although  special  lot- 
teries for  benevolent  purposes  are  frequent,  like  one  that  was 
recently  held  to  raise  money  to  repair  the  cathedral.  The 
profits  of  the  lottery  for  the  Benevolent  Society  amount  to 
several  hundred  thousand  dollars  a  year  and  pay  nearly  the 
entire  expense  of  supporting  the  free  hospitals,  asylums  and 
other  institutions  which  are  usually  sustained  by  the  munici- 
pality or  the  state.  The  patrons  of  the  lottery  are  mostly  poor 
people  who  look  for  the  easy  road  to  fortune.  Every  ticket  is 
divided  into  five  parts.  A  whole  ticket  costs  50  cents,  and  a 
single  part,  which  if  successful  calls  for  one-fifth  of  the  prize, 
is  sold  for  10  cents.  Wealthy  people  patronize  the  god  of  for- 
tune as  well  as  the  poor,  and  often  buy  large  blocks  of  tickets. 

The  Descalsos,  or  * 'barefooted  friars,"  are  the  most  popular 
of  all  the  religious  orders  in  Peru,  because  they  live  lives  of 


i82   BETWEEN   THE  ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

great  activity  and  usefulness,  and  are  really  overseers  of  the 
poor,  inspectors  of  the  prisons,  managers  of  the  relief  and  aid 
societies,  attendants  at  asylums  and  hospitals,  and  are  noted 
for  their  self-sacrifice  and  devotion  to  the  sick  and  the  miser- 
able. Most  of  them  are  Peruvians,  and  some  of  the  best  fam- 
ilies in  the  country  are  represented  at  the  Descalsos  monastery. 
They  do  not  preach  or  carry  on  any  propaganda.  When  they 
take  the  vows  they  turn  into  the  treasury  every  article  of  value 
they  own,  transfer  to  the  proper  officer  all  their  property,  and 
thereafter  live  entirely  upon  alms,  which  they  divide  with  the 
poor.  They  wear  frocks  of  heavy  brown  woolen  material, 
straw  hats  and  sandals  of  leather  which  protect  the  soles  of  the 
feet.     The  term  Descalsos  means  *' without  shoes." 

Their  work  is  allotted  by  the  father  superior,  according  to 
their  talents  and  adaptability.  Some  of  them  are  assigned  to 
the  prisons,  some  to  the  hospitals  and  other  public  institu- 
tions, and  to  various  branches  of  their  relief  work  which  they 
carry  on.  In  the  market  every  morning  you  will  see  them 
going  about  with  baskets  collecting  contributions  from  the 
butchers  and  bakers  and  hucksters,  which  are  used  to  feed  the 
poor,  and  are  always  given  cheerfully  because  people  know 
that  funds  intrusted  to  the  Descalsos  monks  are  never  mis- 
applied. They  eat  the  same  food  they  furnish  to  the  hungry 
that  come  to  their  doors,  and  there  is  no  wine  cellar  in  their 
monastery.  If  they  ask  a  friend  to  dine  he  must  accept  their 
frugal  fare,  which  is  usually  a  stew  of  meat,  with  vegetables 
and  fruit  from  their  own  garden. 

Their  monastery,  which  lies  at  the  base  of  the  mountain 
San  Cristoval  in  the  northern  suburbs  of  the  city,  presents  a 
striking  contrast  to  other  monastic  institutions.  While  the 
San  Francisco,  the  Dominican  and  Augustine  monasteries  are 
notable  examples  of  ancient  Spanish  architecture,  and  are  dec- 
orated in  a  sumptuous  manner  with  paintings,  carved  wood, 
tiles  and  other  embellishments  more  or  less  in  a  state  of  decay 
and  dilapidation,  with  filthy  corners  and  dusty  corridors, 
Descalsos  is  extremely  plain,  but  as  neat  as  a  New  England 
dairy.  There  are  no  fine  pictures,  no  gilded  altars,  no  embroi- 
dered vestments,  no  carved  oak  or  silver  plate,  but  everything 


THE   MONKS  AND  THE   MONASTERIES       183 

is  severe,  simple  and  unostentatious.  The  only  attempts  at 
ornamentation  that  I  saw  were  bunches  of  fresh  flowers  placed 
before  the  crucifixes  and  the  images  of  the  saints,  and  these 
no  doubt  were  the  most  grateful  of  offerings.  The  religious 
orders  frequently  receive  legacies  from  rich  benefactors,  which 
are  invested  in  the  embellishment  of  their  churches  and  mon- 
asteries, and  sometimes  in  profitable  property,  city  real  estate 
or  haciendas  in  the  country,  but  when  the  Descalsos  brothers 
receive  a  gift  it  is  turned  into  cash  and  expended  as  needed 
for  the  benefit  of  the  poor.  They  have  no  property,  either  as 
a  community  or  as  individuals.  If  they  should  be  sold  out 
to-day  their  earthly  possessions  would  not  bring  enough  to 
bury  them,  as  one  of  the  brothers  told  me.  It  is  the  only 
monastic  order  in  America  that  is  entirely  without  property, 
and  depends  upon  the  providence  of  God  from  day  to  day. 

In  almost  every  corridor,  in  the  refectory,  the  reception 
rooms,  the  little  chapel  and  wherever  the  eye  may  wander, 
these  words  are  seen : 

*'Amemos  a  Dios  glorificadose. " 

which  means  in  English,  '*Let  us  love  God  glorified. "  On  the 
blank  walls  are  painted  other  inscriptions  of  a  similar  charac- 
ter, so  that  the  minds  of  the  monks  may  be  always  directed  to 
their  duties.     This  is  a  sample : 

*'Vanidad  de  Vanidades! 
Es  lo  que  el  mundo  te  ofrece 
En  el  trance  de  le  muerto 
Como  lei  humo  de  sparece. ' ' 

which  literally  translated  reads :  "Vanities  of  vanities!  That 
is  what  the  world  offers  you,  but  in  the  trance  of  death  it  dis- 
appears like  smoke. ' ' 

Behind  their  high  blue  walls  the  monks  have  a  beautiful 
garden  where  they  raise  all  kinds  of  fruit  and  vegetables, 
grapes,  bananas,  figs,  oranges,  pomegranates  and  everything 
else  that  this  climate  will  produce,  and  their  aesthetic  instincts 
have  found  expression  in  an  abundance  of  flowers,  which  are 
carefully  tended  and  thrive  well.     They  sell  vegetables,  fruit. 


i84   BETWEEN   THE  ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

milk,  bread  and  wine.  Nearly  all  the  work  in  the  garden  is 
done  by  the  lay  brethren  tinder  the  direction  of  one  of  the 
monks,  who  is  said  to  be  an  accomplished  botanist,  and  they 
depend  largely  upon  it  for  the  food  which  they  furnish  the 
poor.  Many  people  question  the  expediency  of  the  relief  work 
of  the  barefooted  friars  and  declare  that  they  are  making  pau- 
pers by  offering  food  to  all  who  apply  for  it  without  regard  to 
their  necessities ;  that  many  families  who  are  able-bodied  and 
ought  to  work  for  a  living  depend  entirely  upon  the  monks, 
which  of  course  encourages  other  lazy  people  to  imitate  their 
example ;  but  one  of  the  monks  explained  that  they  never 
questioned  the  motives  or  circumstances  of  people  who 
applied  to  them  for  relief,  but  whatever  they  had  they  gave 
with  a  free  and  willing  hand,  depending  upon  God  to  pro- 
tect them  from  impostors  and  to  see  that  their  labors  were 
rewarded. 

"No  person  was  ever  refused  food  at  our  door,"  he  said, 
"and  we  prefer  not  to  investigate  the  applications  that  are 
made  to  us  for  relief,  because  it  would  take  so  much  time,  and 
in  a  measure  diminish  our  usefulness.  If  we  were  inquisitive 
many  worthy  people  would  starve  rather  than  come  to  us. 
Those  who  furnish  us  the  means  of  carrying  on  these  charities 
are  satisfied  with  our  methods,  and  therefore  I  do  not  see  why 
others  should  complain. ' ' 

And  he  was  right.  Public  confidence  in  the  integrity  and 
the  usefulness  of  the  Descalsos  brotherhood  is  so  great  that 
nobody  ever  inquires  into  the  distribution  of  the  funds  that  are 
intrusted  to  them,  and  their  applications  for  assistance  are 
seldom  denied.  When  they  need  money  they  go  to  the  busi- 
ness men  of  the  city  and  others  who  are  known  to  be  of  philan- 
thropic disposition  and  ask  for  what  they  want,  which  is  gen- 
erally given  them.  Sometimes  they  explain  the  purpose  to 
which  the  contribution  will  be  devoted,  but  usually  not. 

At  2  o'clock  every  day  there  is  an  interesting  spectacle  out- 
side the  entrance  of  the  Descalsos  monastery,  200  or  300  unfor- 
tunates— the  poor,  the  sick,  the  lame  and  the  blind,  cripples 
and  consumptives,  ragged  children  and  withered  crones — 
gather  with  buckets  and  baskets  to  share  in  the  daily  dis- 


THE   MONKS   AND   THE   MONASTERIES       185 

tribution  of  food.  In  the  convent  kitchen  great  caldrons  of 
"chupe"  or  "cazuela,"  the  national  dish  of  Peru,  a  stew  of 
mutton  or  beef,  with  bread  and  vegetables,  have  been  cooked 
by  the  monks,  and  the  nourishing  composition  is  brought  out 
of  the  gate  in  enormous  copper  buckets  which  are  placed  in  a 
row.  The  beggars  gather  around  them,  the  children  in  front, 
then  the  women  and  the  men,  and  at  a  sign  from  a  benevolent 
old  monk  who  wears  a  big  apron  and  superintends  the  distri- 
bution they  clasp  their  hands,  lift  their  eyes  to  heaven,  and 
murmur  a  prayer  of  thanksgiving  for  what  they  are  about  to 
receive.  Then  they  cross  themselves  and  hold  out  their  buck- 
ets, which  the  padre  fills  with  a  big  ladle. 

While  he  is  serving  the  stew  he  keeps  up  a  continual  round 
of  admonition  and  reproof.  He  seemed  to  know  all  of  his  cus- 
tomers, and,  while  I  could  not  understand  what  he  said,  it  was 
easy  to  tell  from  the  changing  expressions  upon  their  faces 
when  he  was  comforting  and  when  he  was  scolding  them.  For 
the  little  ones  he  seemed  to  have  a  soft  hand  and  a  kind  heart, 
particularly  for  the  '*ninas,"  the  little  girls,  who  were  pushed 
aside  by  the  eager  throng  of  boys  and  women.  Occasionally, 
when  some  greedy  person  would  interfere  with  the  comfort  of 
others,  he  would  put  his  left  hand  upon  his  hip,  and,  shaking 
his  ladle  in  his  right,  would  scold  like  a  schoolmaster.  There 
was  a  humorous  twinkle  in  his  eye,  and  he  occasionally  cast  a 
glance  over  toward  our  way  to  see  how  the  group  of  gringoes 
were  enjoying  the  scene. 

After  the  last  drop  of  the  stew  had  been  distributed,  and  I 
asked  permission  to  take  his  photograph,  he  threw  up  his  hand 
and  declared  that  it  was  the  last  thing  in  the  world  that  I  ought 
to  do.  There  were  handsomer  monks  in  the  monastery,  he 
said,  and  I  ought  not  to  waste  any  films  on  him. 

It  seems  a  little  odd  to  find  the  religious  and  patriotic  tend- 
encies of  the  people  expressed  in  the  nomenclature  of  their 
streets,  such  as  the  Street  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  the  Street  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Street  of  the  Mother  of  Mercy,  the  Street 
of  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  the  Street  of  the  28th  of  July,  the 
Streets  of  the  ist  of  March,  the  8th  of  September,  and  the 
5th  of  May. 


i86    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

The  city  of  Lima  and  the  city  of  Cordova,  in  the  Argentine 
Republic,  both  claim  the  honor  of  having  the  first  printing 
press  in  the  new  world,  and  both  of  them  were  probably  estab- 
lished about  the  same  date  by  the  Jesuit  missionaries. 

One  of  the  great  institutions  of  Lima  in  former  days  was 
the  monastery  of  San  Francisco,  which  was  founded  simulta- 
neously with  the  old  palace  and  the  cathedral,  and  has  always 
been  the  largest  and  the  richest  monastic  institution  in  Amer- 
ica. When  Pizarro  came  to  Peru  the  chaplain  of  his  expedi- 
tion was  Friar  Valverde,  a  Franciscan  monk  who  led  the 
massacre  of  Atahualpa's  court  at  Cajamarca,  and  whose  zeal  in 
behalf  of  his  religion  was  not  surpassed  by  the  avarice  of  the 
soldiers  for  plunder.  In  fact,  Valverde  was  about  as  active  as 
any  of  the  party,  and  when  anything  was  going  on  in  the  way 
of  either  secular  or  spiritual  interest  he  was  right  behind  his 
chief.  When  the  city  of  Lima  was  laid  out  he  asked  for  land 
for  a  monastery,  and  Pizarro  told  him  he  could  have  as  much 
as  he  could  pace  off  in  a  single  night  along  the  banks  of  the 
River  Rimac,  northeast  of  the  locations  that  had  been  selected 
for  the  plaza,  the  palace  and  the  cathedral. 

Father  Valverde  was  a  hustler,  as  I  have  said,  and  he  never 
worked  harder  than  he  did  that  night.  Starting  from  the 
bank  of  the  river,  he  went  eastward,  carrying  rawhide  thongs 
to  mark  his  trail,  and  when  the  sun  rose  he  had  inclosed  sev- 
eral acres  of  the  most  valuable  city  lots.  The  monastery  was 
erected  on  the  corner  nearest  the  palace.  From  the  officers 
and  soldiers  of  the  expedition  he  obtained  large  sums  of  money, 
in  addition  to  the  plunder  he  had  already  secured,  and  the 
institution  was  originally  laid  out  upon  a  magnitude  unsur- 
passed by  any  of  the  monasteries  of  Europe,  and  enlarged  from 
time  to  time.  Much  of  the  material  was  sent  from  Spain,  and 
among  other  things  a  quantity  of  beautiful  tiles,  with  which 
the  cloisters  are  decorated.  When  they  came  there  was 
nobody  in  the  colony  to  set  them.  One  of  the  soldiers  who 
had  been  condemned  to  death  for  the  murder  of  a  comrade 
made  it  known  to  the  monks  that  he  was  able  to  do  that  sort 
of  masonry,  and  he  kept  up  the  job  as  long  as  he  could, 
thereby  postponing  his  execution  indefinitely.     The  work  was 


THE   MONKS   AND   THE   MONASTERIES       187 

very  badly  done,  but  the  beauty  of  the  tiles  has  added  to  the 
fame  of  the  institution. 

One  of  the  legends  is  that  after  the  first  building  was  fin- 
ished and  a  colony  of  monks  had  come  over  from  the  old  world 
to  occupy  it,  Pizarro  was  invited  down  to  make  an  inspection. 
When  he  had  been  shown  through  the  cloisters  and  cells  and 
the  chapel,  and  had  admired  everything,  he  reminded  Friar 
Valverde  in  a  jocular  way  that  the  monks  had  no  title  to  the 
property,  and  could  not  get  one  until  they  were  able  to  offer 
him  some  compensation.  The  monk  was  a  diplomat,  and, 
handing  Pizarro  a  cup  of  chocolate,  remarked : 

"Here  is  the  price.  The  Savior  Himself  said  that  whoever 
offers  a  cup  of  cold  water  in  His  name  to  the  least  of  His  crea- 
tures offers  it  to  Him,  and  I  have  given  you  a  cup  of  chocolate. ' ' 

The  walls  of  the  monastery  are  nine  feet  thick,  made  of 
adobe,  and  have  successfully  withstood  all  the  many  earth- 
quakes that  have  visited  Lima.  The  ceilings  of  the  corridors, 
the  cloisters  and  the  chapels  were  once  covered  with  most 
exquisite  carved  oak  and  mahogany  wood,  but  no  care  has 
been  taken  of  it,  and  it  has  been  gradually  falling  to  pieces  for 
the  last  100  years.  In  fact  the  whole  institution  is  in  a  state 
of  advanced  decay  and  dilapidation.  The  walls  of  the  first 
cloisters  were  covered  with  paintings  of  more  or  less  merit, 
which  were  brought  from  Europe  in  the  early  days  and  pre- 
sented by  devotees  of  the  Franciscan  order  from  time  to  time. 
Until  lately  no  care  was  taken  of  them,  but  twenty-five  or 
thirty  years  ago  one  of  the  friars  made  falling  screens  of  can- 
vas, which  afforded  them  some  protection,  but  it  was  too  late 
to  save  them. 

Some  years  ago  I  found  in  the  attic  of  the  tower  of  the 
monastery  a  pile  of  the  most  remarkable  old  missals.  There 
is  nothing  in  the  British  museum,  or  the  Biblioteca  of  Paris,  or 
the  Ambrosian  library  of  Milan,  to  compare  with  them, 
although  those  three  institutions  have  the  best  collections  of 
illuminated  work  on  parchment.  The  age  of  the  missals  is 
unknown,  but  it  is  certain  that  they  were  made  by  monks  in 
Spain  before  the  discovery  of  America,  because  the  decora- 
tions are  entirely  Moorish,  and  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  issued 


i88   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND  THE   OCEAN 

an  edict  forbidding  the  use  of  Moorish  designs  in  art  and  archi- 
tecture. That  makes  them  more  than  400  years  old,  yet  the 
colors  are  as  brilliant  as  when  they  were  new. 

I  secured  one  of  the  best  examples  and  brought  it  home 
with  me  in  1885.  In  visiting  the  monastery  again  in  1899  I 
found  that  the  remainder  of  these  priceless  works  of  art  had 
been  entirely  ruined  by  having  large  sheets  of  modern  music 
pasted  over  the  illuminated  pages.  The  monk  who  was  escort- 
ing me  through  the  convent  admitted  that  it  was  a  sacrilegious 
act,  and  deplored  it,  but  explained  that  the  prior  cared  nothing 
for  art  or  beauty,  and  utilized  them  because  the  parchment 
was  stiff  and  easily  handled.  He  informed  me,  too,  that  one 
of  the  finest  of  the  missals  was  taken  to  the  United  States  some 
years  ago,  and  he  understood  that  it  had  been  exhibited  at  the 
World's  Fair;  but  I  did  not  think  it  advisable  to  explain  who 
was  the  present  owner,  especially  when  he  added  that  it  was 
the  most  precious  volume  in  the  collection,  having  belonged 
to  St.  Francis  himself. 

With  perfect  ingenuousness  the  monks  show  visitors  the 
cell  in  which  St.  Francis  lived,  the  retreat  in  which  he  spent 
weeks  and  months  of  contemplation,  a  big  blue  wooden  cross 
fastened  to  the  wall  of  a  little  closet  where  he  used  to  scourge 
himself  and  do  penance,  and  a  little  chapel  they  have  erected 
in  the  little  room  where  he  died.  They  have  the  chair  in 
which  he  used  to  sit,  his  rosary  and  crucifix,  the  hair  shirt  he 
wore  on  his  deathbed,  his  coffin,  which  is  covered  with  red 
velvet  and  gold  braid,  and  an  ivory  model  of  the  ship  which 
carried  his  remains  to  Rome,  said  to  have  been  a  present  to 
the  monastery  from  one  of  the  kings  of  Spain.  They  tell  you 
that  his  skull  is  buried  under  the  altar  of  the  church,  they 
show  you  the  skull  of  Friar  Juan  Gomez,  a  monk  who  took 
care  of  him  during  his  last  illness,  and  point  out  a  well  where 
he  performed  a  miracle  a  few  nights  before  his  death.  It 
appears  that  when  St.  Francis  awakened  from  his  sleep  about 
2  o'clock  in  the  morning  he  was  hungry  and  expressed  a  crav- 
ing for  fish.  Friar  Juan  explained  that  he  could  not  get  fish 
at  that  time  in  the  night,  and  St.  Francis  then  asked  for  a 
drink  of  water.     The  monk  went  out  to  the  patio,  dipped  the 


THE   MONKS   AND   THE   MONASTERIES       189 

bucket  in  the  well,  and  when  he  brought  it  up  it  contained  half 
a  dozen  beautiful  pejerray,  the  most  delicate  fish  known  to 
Peru,  which  correspond  with  our  speckled  brook  trout. 

They  have  a  picture  of  the  deathbed  scene  of  St.  Francis 
painted  in  oil  by  a  famous  Peruvian  artist,  and  a  correspond- 
ing piece  representing  his  funeral  in  the  plaza  of  Lima,  with 
the  archbishop  and  viceroy  in  the  foreground,  and  over  the 
entranqe  to  the  room  in  which  he  died  is  this  inscription : 

"Saint  Francis  Solano,  native  of  Montilla,  in  the  kingdom 
of  Spain,  lived  in  this  cloister.  Every  day  in  the  morning  he 
used  to  go  with  his  violin  to  the  orchard  to  sing  hymns,  and 
was  accompanied  by  a  vast  number  of  singing  birds,  resting 
on  his  head  and  shoulders,  near  a  palm  tree  that  was  there  at 
that  time.  He  died  in  the  adjoining  room  that  is  to-day  a 
chapel,  on  the  14th  of  July,  1610,  at  the  age  of  62  years." 

The  monks  looked  upon  me  as  a  hopeless  heretic  when  I 
explained  to  them  that  the  real  St.  Francis,  the  founder  of  the 
Franciscan  order,  lived  and  died  many  centuries  before  the 
monastery  in  Peru  could  have  been  founded  by  his  devotees, 
and  they  would  not  yield  an  atom.  They  declared  that  these 
were  the  relics  of  the  only  genuine  St.  Francis,  and  that  all 
others  were  imitations. 

St.  Francis  Solano,  however,  was  an  inmate  of  this  monas- 
tery during  the  latter  part  of  the  sixteenth  and  the  first  part  of 
the  seventeenth  century,  and  was  famous  for  his  piety  and 
eloquence  as  a  preacher.  He  was  also  a  musician  of  remark- 
able ability,  and  it  is  true,  according  to  history  of  the  time, 
that  when  he  went  into  the  garden  with  his  violin  flocks  of 
birds  surrounded  him  and  sung  to  his  music.  While  he  was  in 
the  Franciscan  monastery  the  city  of  Lima  and  the  province  of 
Peru  were  shaken  by  disastrous  earthquakes.  Many  people 
were  killed,  a  large  amount  of  property  was  destroyed,  and  the 
entire  population  was  thoroughly  frightened.  Friar  Solano 
took  advantage  of  that  opportunity  to  preach  to  thousands  in 
the  plaza  from  the  cathedral  steps.  He  pronounced  the  earth- 
quakes the  judgment  of  God  for  the  sins  of  the  people,  and 
brought  about  a  universal  revival  of  religion  and  morals,  which 
caused  him  to  be  canonized  after  his  death.     His  sanctity  hav- 


I90   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND  THE   OCEAN 

ing  been  established,  he  was  made  a  saint  by  Pope  Clement  in 

1675. 

There  used  to  be  several  hundred  monks  in  the  San  Fran- 
cisco monastery,  but  there  are  now  only  sixty-six.  They  have 
a  school  for  small  boys  and  another  for  novitiates,  who  are 
required  to  endure  much  discipline  and  mortification  of  the 
flesh  before  they  are  admitted  to  the  order.  Through  bad 
management  the  order  has  lost  a  large  amount  of  its  property. 
The  government  has  confiscated  more  than  half  the  monastery, 
and  used  it  for  military  barracks  and  other  purposes,  while 
several  sugar  estates  that  formerly  belonged  to  the  monks 
have  slipped  out  of  their  possession. 

Old  monasteries  are  used  for  all  sorts  of  purposes  in  Peru. 
The  national  library  and  the  Geographic  Society  occupy  the 
former  headquarters  of  the  Society  of  Jesus.  This  is  one  of 
the  most  famous  buildings  in  South  America,  and  was  consid- 
ered an  ideal  of  splendor  200  years  ago,  although  now  it  looks 
rusty  and  dusty  and  smells  as  if  it  were  older  than  it  really  is. 
The  ceilings  of  carved  mahogany  are  greatly  admired.  The 
railway  stations  are  ancient  convents  which  still  retain  their 
names.  The  Oroya  road  has  **Deserparado,"  which  formerly 
sheltered  the  Little  Sisters  of  the  Poor.  The  English  road 
has  utilized  the  Convent  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  and  its 
station  is  known  by  that  name.  Those  who  go  by  train  to  the 
suburban  town  of  Chorillos  take  the  cars  at  the  Incarnation 
depot.  Most  of  the  schools  and  military  barracks  were  for- 
merly occupied  by  the  monastic  orders. 

There  is  a  pretty  wedding  ceremony  in  Peru — its  origin  and 
the  significance  I  could  not  learn.  Some  say  it  is  a  Biblical 
and  others  that  it  is  an  old  Moorish  custom.  It  is  customary 
for  the  padrina  or  godfather  of  the  groom  to  hand  the  padrina 
or  godfather  of  the  bride  a  tray  containing  thirteen  pieces  of 
money.  It  may  be  gold  or  it  may  be  silver,  but  there  must 
be  thirteen  pieces,  because  Christ  and  the  twelve  apostles 
make  that  number.  The  godfather  hands  the  tray  to  the 
bride  and  she  hands  it  to  the  priest  and  the  priest  spends  the 
money  for  charity. 

The  only  American  woman  ever    canonized    was   Isabel 


THE   MONKS  AND   THE   MONASTERIES       191 

Floras,  daughter  of  Gaspar  Floras,  a  Spanish  musketeer  who 
settled  in  Peru  after  a  term  of  service  in  the  army,  and 
became  a  miner.  His  wife  was  Maria  Olive,  a  native  of  Peru. 
Tradition  says  that  the  color  of  the  child's  cheeks  won  for  her 
the  familiar  name  of  Rose  when  she  was  a  tottling,  and  that  it 
clung  to  her  until  it  was  sanctified  by  the  church  when  she 
was  canonized  at  St.  Peter's,  Rome,  April  12,  167 1.  Part  of 
her  remains  lie  in  an  urn  on  the  altar  of  the  old  church  of 
Santa  Domingo,  which  has  the  handsomest  spire  I  have  seen, 
and  part  of  them  are  in  the  chapel  of  a  convent  that  was 
erected  in  her  honor,  to  which  they  were  removed  in  April, 
1886,  the  third  centennial  of  her  birth,  and  the  occasion  was 
one  of  the  grandest  demonstrations  ever  witnessed  in  South 
America.  It  was  held  under  the  auspices  of  the  government, 
the  expenses  were  paid  by  the  public  treasury,  and  it  was 
attended  by  religious  dignitaries  from  all  parts  of  Central  and 
South  America,  and  celebrated  as  a  holiday  throughout  Peru. 

The  remains  of  Santa  Rosa  were  taken  from  their  resting 
place  and  borne  in  solemn  procession  throughout  the  streets. 
Flowers  were  scattered  upon  the  pavement  over  which  the 
cortege  was  to  pass,  and  from  the  windows  and  balconies  of 
the  houses  hung  draperies  of  silk  and  velvet.  The  urn  was 
carried  upon  the  shoulders  of  Dominican  monks,  who  were 
followed  by  a  long  procession  of  priests  and  members  of 
monastic  orders,  several  regiments  of  military,  the  fire  brigade 
and  members  of  religious  and  benevolent  societies.  Some  of 
the  people  whose  houses  fronted  the  line  of  procession  spread 
carpets  and  rugs  upon  the  pavement  and  from  several  places 
white  doves  were  released  as  it  passed  by.  The  urn  was 
taken  to  the  church  of  Santa  Rosa  of  the  Fathers,  where  it 
remained  all  night.  The  next  day  it  was  taken  to  the 
cathedral  for  the  final  ceremonies.  The  president  of  the 
republic,  the  members  of  his  cabinet,  the  justices  of  the 
Supreme  court,  the  members  of  both  houses  of  congress  and 
other  dignitaries  joined  in  the  procession  and  followed 
the  remains  back  to  the  Church  of  Santo  Domingo.  They 
were  again  deposited  underneath  the  grand  altar,  where  they 
had  lain  for  nearly  three  centuries. 


192    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

Santa  Rosa  manifested  a  deep,  religious  spirit  from  her 
earliest  years,  and  when  she  was  i6  she  devoted  her  life  to  the 
care  of  the  sick  and  the  poor,  living  as  a  hermit  in  a  little 
cabin  in  the  center  of  the  city.  A  model  of  the  cabin  now 
stands  within  the  walls  of  an  unfinished  church  commenced  in 
1864  in  her  honor,  and  abandoned  for  lack  of  funds.  It 
encloses  a  little  garden  which  the  attendant  says  she  used  to 
cultivate,  a  well  in  which  she  dropped  the  key  to  an  iron  belt 
which  she  locked  about  her  waist  to  signify  her  marriage  to 
the  church,  and  the  tree  under  which  she  used  to  talk  to  the 
birds  in  their  own  language.  An  iron  tablet  with  an  inscrip- 
tion marks  the  spot  where  she  spent  nights  in  prayer  and 
fasting  for  the  redemption  of  mankind  and  various  relics  are 
retained  of  her  by  the  sisters  of  Santo  Domingo,  whose  lowly 
habit  she  assumed.  She  was  only  31  years  of  age  when  she 
died,  in  16 17.  Proofs  of  her  sanctity  were  established  by  the 
archbishop,  and  in  1625  Pope  Urban  sent  an  ecclesiastical 
commission  to  Lima  to  carry  out  the  necessary  formalities. 
Their  report  was  submitted  to  the  college  of  cardinals,  which 
gave  the  final  sanction,  and  the  ceremony  of  beatification  of 
Saint  Rose  of  Lima  was  celebrated  by  Pope  Clement  IX. 

It  is  said  that  the  peasant  women  prefer  Chinese  for  hus- 
bands to  men  of  their  own  race,  because  of  their  sobriety, 
kindness  and  fidelity.  The  peasants,  or  cholos,  are  lax  in  the 
observance  of  their  marriage  vows,  and  domestic  obligations 
rest  lightly  upon  them.  If  a  peasant  leaves  one  place  to  find 
employment  in  another  he  generally  abandons  his  wife  and 
family  and  takes  up  with  a  new  woman  as  soon  as  he  becomes 
acquainted.  This  is  the  custom  throughout  the  country.  The 
women  and  children  remain  as  permanent  fixtures  on  the 
plantations  and  in  the  towns,  while  the  men  are  restless  and 
migratory,  and  often  are  compelled  to  go  away  because  of 
trouble.  But  the  Chinese  are  not  so  fickle.  They  do  not 
require  as  much  work  of  their  wives  and  feed  and  clothe  them 
better,  so  that  a  cholo  woman  prefers  a  Chinese  husband 
when  she  can  get  one,  although  the  Church  and  the  civil 
authorities  are  seldom  called  in  to  solemnize  their  relations. 

The  Chinese  have  made  great  progress  in  that  country. 


THE   MONKS   AND   THE   MONASTERIES       193 

There  are  two  wealthy  business  firms  in  Lima  whose  mem- 
bers were  brought  out  from  Canton  under  contract,  and  who 
served  their  time  as  coolies.  There  is  a  Chinese  club  and 
theater  and  two  benevolent  societies  in  the  city. 

Up  at  Chicla,  one  day,  we  got  a  glimpse  of  a  curious  cus- 
tom among  the  peasants.  Squatting  in  the  churchyards  in  a 
row  were  ten  or  twelve  women  from  the  mountains,  while 
opposite  and  facing  them  were  an  equal  number  of  surly-look- 
ing men,  also  seated  in  a  row  upon  the  ground,  with  their 
backs  against  a  wall.  Between  the  two  was  a  rude  cross,  held 
upright  by  a  few  stones  laid  against  its  base,  and  the  arms 
were  trimmed  with  artifical  flowers.  The  alcalde  of  the  place 
explained  to  us  that  the  men  had  been  brought  there  upon 
complaint  of  their  wives  for  discipline ;  that  they  were  charged 
with  drunkenness,  abuse,  neglect  and  improvidence,  and  that 
the  village  priest  himself,  representing  the  spiritual  and  tem- 
poral authority  of  the  parish  would  sit  as  a  court  of  cassation 
to  hear  the  evidence,  render  judgment  and  administer  correc- 
tion the  next  morning  at  8  o'clock.  When  asked  what  sort  of 
correction  would  be  administered  he  shook  a  stout  stick  which 
he  carried  as  a  cane  in  his  hand  and  remarked  that  he  would 
lay  that  on  the  backs  of  the  worst  ones,  while  the  others  would 
be  sentenced  to  various  forms  of  penance. 

Some  of  the  women  were  young  and  might  have  been  good 
looking  if  they  had  been  properly  dressed,  but  they  wore  the 
roughest  kind  of  garments,  were  barefooted  and  filthy,  and 
their  faces  expressed  little  intelligence. 

There  is  a  notable  institution  in  Lima,  which  you  can  see 
from  the  street  cars  on  the  way  to  the  American  legation.  It 
is  a  gloomy-looking  old  building,  with  high  walls  that  are 
painted  a  bright  blue,  and  is  known  as  the  Refugio  de  San 
Jos6.  Here  a  married  woman  may  find  refuge  from  a  cruel 
and  wicked  husband,  and  here  a  husband  may  place  a  way- 
ward or  an  incompatible  wife,  with  the  approval  of  the  priest, 
for  discipline  and  religious  training  to  improve  her  temper 
and  morals.  Divorce  is  unknown  except  on  the  rarest  occa- 
sions when  a  dispensation  must  be  obtained  from  the  Vatican 
at  Rome ;  but  an  unfaithful  wife  can  be  sentenced  to  perpet- 


194   BETWEEN   THE  ANDES  AND   THE  OCEAN 

ual  imprisonment  in  the  Refugio  de  San  Jos6  by  the  arch- 
bishop, when  the  evidence  of  her  infidelity  is  made  clear  to 
him.  The  husband,  however,  is  required  to  pay  a  certain 
sum  monthly  or  quarterly  to  the  sisters  in  charge  of  the  con- 
vent for  her  support. 

During  her  imprisonment  a  woman  is  not  allowed  to  com- 
municate with  people  outside  or  leave  her  cell  without 
permission  from  the  mother  superior,  and  is  required  to 
perform  religious  duties  several  hours  a  day.  If  she  shows 
signs  of  repentance  and  her  husband  is  willing  to  take  her 
back,  or  her  parents  agree  to  take  care  of  her,  she  may  be 
released  and  return  to  her  home,  with  the  approval  of  the 
archbishop.  There  are  a  good  many  stories  about  women 
who  have  been  improperly  imprisoned  in  this  institution  by 
jealous  husbands. 

There  is  no  such  institution  for  the  discipline  of  husbands 
who  are  unfaithful  to  their  wives.  That  goes  without  saying. 
The  woman  has  always  been  wrong,  ever  since  that  affair  of 
the  apple. 


XIII 

THE  REMARKABLE  RAILWAYS  OF  PERU 

About  thirty  years  ago  there  appeared  in  Peru  a  fugitive 
from  justice,  who  had  been  involved  in  difficulties  which  he 
could  not  overcome.  His  name  was  Henry  Meigs,  and  he 
was  a  partner  of  Ralston,  the  president  of  the  Bank  of  Califor- 
nia, who  drowned  himself  at  the  Golden  Gate  to  escape  the 
consequences  of  his  speculations.  Meigs  had  more  determi- 
nation, and,  when  his  losses  were  discovered,  he  climbed  to  the 
deck  of  a  schooner  that  was  in  San  Francisco  bay,  bought  her 
and  sailed  for  South  America,  bringing  considerable  wealth 
and  irresistible  Yankee  enterprise.  He  landed  in  Chile  and 
prospered  there.  He  then  went  to  Peru  and  applied  his 
energy  and  genius  to  the  development  of  a  railway  system 
which  had  been  projected  by  President  Pardo — the  best 
executive  the  republic  ever  had.  Meigs  sent  back  money  to 
California  to  reimburse  every  one  who  had  lost  by  his  finan- 
cial transactions,  but  remained  in  Peru  until  he  died,  the  most 
influential,  the  richest,  and  the  most  famous  man  of  his  time 
in  South  America.  His  body  lies  under  a  mound  and  a  simple 
cross  at  Villegas,  two  miles  from  Callao,  by  the  side  of  the 
railway  track.  It  has  been  truly  said  that  the  Oroya  railroad, 
which  has  been  counted  the  eighth  wonder  of  the  world,  is  his 
monument,  and  nothing  elsewhere  compares  with  it  as  a 
triumph  of  engineering  genius  and  human  enterprise. 

It  leaves  the  port  of  Callao  at  tidewater,  and  in  a  distance 
of  1 06  miles  reaches  an  elevation  of  15,665  feet,  where,  by 
the  Gallera  tunnel,  it  pierces  the  summit  of  Mount  Meigs, 
2,000  feet  higher;  then  descends  into  the  great  plateau 
between  the  two  ranges  of  the  Andes  and  follows  the  valley 
of  the  Jauja  to  its  terminus  at  the  little  town  of  Oroya,  136 
miles  from  the  coast,  and  12,178  feet  above  the  sea. 

195 


196    BETWEEN   THE  ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

An  Oroya  is  a  curious  suspension  bridge  used  by  the  Tncas 
to  cross  streams  that  cannot  be  forded.  It  is  a  cable  of  braided 
llama  hide  stretched  taut,  to  which  is  attached  a  basket  drawn 
back  and  forth  over  the  gorge  by  means  of  other  ropes  of  hide 
similar  to  the  car  used  by  the  life-saving  service  to  rescue 
persons  from  wrecked  vessels  on  the  coast.  At  an  oroya  that 
crosses  the  Jauja  river,  a  little  town  has  been  built  up,  which 
has  become  a  considerable  market  for  the  exchange  of  prod- 
ucts and  the  entrepot  for  llama  caravans  from  the  interior. 
This  is  the  present  terminus  of  the  Meigs  road,  which  was 
intended,  before  the  money  gave  out,  to  extend  to  the  famous 
mines  of  Cerro  de  Pasco,  about  fifty-one  miles  farther.  The 
line  has  been  surveyed,  and  much  of  the  grading  completed, 
and  Ernest  Thorndike,  an  American,  has  undertaken  to  build 
the  remainder  of  the  track.  At  present  freight  is  transported 
on  the  backs  of  llamas. 

Shortly  before  reaching  the  tunnel  of  Gallera  the  road  passes 
the  mines  of  Casapalca,  now  operated  with  considerable  profit 
by  Backus  «&  Johnston,  a  firm  of  enterprising  Americans,  who 
have  erected  modern  smelters  under  the  direction  of  Captain 
Guyer  of  Montana.  This  is  said  to  be  the  highest  smelter  in 
the  world,  being  13,606  feet  above  the  sea,  and  Gallera,  a  little 
village  of  about  200  Indians  (15,565  feet)  is  the  highest  place 
where  steam  is  used  as  a  motive  power.  Alta  del  Crucero, 
the  highest  point  upon  the  Puna  road  to  Bolivia,  is  14,660  feet. 
Cerro  de  Pasco  is  14,293,  and  Cuzco  11,003  ^^^t,  but  these  are 
not  the  highest  inhabited  places  in  Peru.  Vicharayas,  15,950 
feet,  and  Muscapata,  16,158  feet,  are  thriving  mining  settle- 
ments, and  there  are  tambos  occupied  by  shepherds  even 
higher. 

The  Oroya  railroad  cost  $27,600,000  up  to  the  time  of  the 
death  of  Henry  Meigs,  when  it  reached  only  to  the  town  of 
Chicla,  eighty-six  miles  from  Callao.  The  remaining  fifty 
miles  are  said  to  have  cost  over  $6,000,000,  making  a  total  of 
about  $34,000,000  for  a  track  136  miles  long,  an  average  of 
$250,000  a  mile,  but  a  considerable  portion  of  that  money  was 
expended  for  purposes  other  than  material  and  construction. 
There  is  a  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  net  value  of  the 


THE   REMARKABLE   RAILWAYS  OF   PERU     197 

benefits  derived  by  this  country  from  the  example  and  meth- 
ods of  Mr.  Meigs.  He  believed  that  money  was  omnipotent, 
and  never  counted  the  cost  of  any  purpose  upon  which  his 
mind  was  fixed.  He  plunged  Peru  into  a  debt  of  $250,000,- 
000,  and  established  a  standard  of  political  and  commercial 
morals  which  was  as  reckless  as  the  engineering  task  he 
undertook  in  the  construction  of  the  Oroya  road.  When  he 
determined  to  build  a  railroad  from  the  ocean  through  the 
Andes,  no  obstacle  was  too  great  for  him  to  overcome.  He 
selected  his  route  and  applied  money  and  science  with  equal 
audacity  until  he  accomplished  the  task,  without  regard  to  the 
ordinary  economies  observed  in  practical  business  life. 

About  thirty  miles  from  the  coast  the  track  enters  a  canyon, 
through  which  the  river  Rimac  tumbles  'a  continuous  cataract 
of  foam  from  a  height  of  16,000  feet  in  a  distance  of  thirty- 
eight  miles  as  the  crow  flies.  The  railway  cannot  rise  as 
rapidly  as  the  river  falls,  and  therefore  engineering  science 
suggested  a  series  of  switchbacks,  or  reverse  tangents,  where 
the  canyon  is  too  narrow  for  curves.  So  the  track  zigzags  up 
the  mountain  sides,  running  sometimes  forward  and  some- 
times backward,  until  the  summit  is  won,  so  that  you  often 
see  four  or  five  lines  of  parallel  track,  one  above  the 
other,  like  terraces.  At  several  points,  to  make  these  grades, 
it  was  necessary  to  bridge  the  canyons,  so  a  framework  of 
iron  is  stretched  across  like  a  bracket  clinging  to  the  mighty 
rocks. 

Nearly  the  entire  distance  the  roadbed  was  made  by  blast- 
ing. The  mountains  are  of  granite,  torn  and  twisted,  rent 
and  shattered  by  prodigious  volcanic  upheavals  that  have 
taken  place  there.  There  is  little  earth  in  sight  for  nearly  all 
the  distance,  except  what  was  hauled  in  from  the  valley  below 
for  ballast,  and  the  track  rests  upon  shelves  carved  in  the  gran- 
ite cliffs  with  drill  and  dynamite.  There  are  seventy-eight 
tunnels,  whose  aggregate  length  is  36,000  feet,  the  longest 
being  that  of  Gallera,  which  is  3,800  feet  in  length. 

Occasionally  the  gorge  widens,  where  little  villages  of 
Indians  are  found  cultivating  the  silt  that  has  been  washed 
down  from  above.     But  they  get  yery  little  sunlight  within 


198    BETWEEN   THE  ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

those  mighty  granite  walls,  that  are  seamed  and  wrinkled  like 
an  old  man's  face,  and  broken  here  and  there  by  furrows  that 
have  been  made  by  the  falling  water  when  the  winter  snow 
melts  on  the  mountain  tops.  The  rainfall  is  insignificant,  but 
occasionallly  nature  indulges  in  a  dramatic  performance  which 
leaves  horror  and  devastation  in  its  wake.  A  few  years  ago 
the  Verrugas  bridge,  a  beautiful  piece  of  ironwork  which 
spanned  the  chasm,  was  suddenly  washed  away  by  a  cloud- 
burst, which  came  without  warning,  and  in  a  few  moments  was 
gone,  but  the  force  of  the  water  was  so  great  as  to  carry  away 
a  structure  that  cost  nearly  $1,000,000  and  was  rooted  in  the 
eternal  rock. 

The  bridge  was  replaced  at  a  heavy  cost  the  next  year,  the 
material  and  the  men  being  brought  from  Trenton,  and  nearly 
all  of  them  died  from  a  mysterious  disease  known  as  the  Ver- 
rugas, because  it  is  peculiar  to  that  spot  in  the  valley  through 
which  the  bridge  is  erected.  It  is  found  in  three  or  four 
other  similar  localities  in  the  mountain  gorges,  but  here  it 
attacks  every  unacclimated  person,  usually  with  fatal  results. 
Captain  Phelps,  who  was  United  States  minister  to  Peru  dur- 
ing the  Arthur  administration,  and  Lieutenant  Nye,  his  naval 
attache,  both  died  in  1885  of  the  disease,  which  they  contracted 
while  on  a  hunting  expedition  along  the  Oroya  road. 

It  is  a  disease  of  the  blood.  The  first  symptoms  are  fever 
and  pain  in  the  back  of  the  head,  with  a  terrible  thirst 
after  a  few  hours'  delirium.  The  veins  begin  to  swell  the 
second  day  and  an  eruption  follows;  the  distended  blood- 
vessels, breaking,  run  into  each  other  and  form  swellings  along 
the  veins  and  arteries,  in  which  the  poison  seems  to  be  con- 
centrated. If  these  swellings  appear  during  the  earlier  period 
of  the  disease  they  can  be  tapped  and  the  poison  released,  but 
if  it  remains  in  the  blood  the  result  is  fatal.  The  disease  is 
contagious  by  contact.  Physicians  say  that  it  is  caused  by  a 
germ  that  can  be  inhaled  or  absorbed  into  the  system  with 
food  or  water,  and  can  be  communicated  through  the  saliva. 
Its  origin  is  supposed  to  be  in  the  decomposition  of  the  soil  in 
the  Verrugas  valley,  and  one  or  two  other  points  in  Peru. 

About  two  years  ago  a  young  doctor  of  Lima,  named  Car- 


THE   REMARKABLE   RAILWAYS   OF   PERU     199 
I* 

rion,  attempted  to  solve  the  problem  and  inoculated  himself 
with  blood  taken  from  the  veins  of  a  man  who  was  suffering 
from  the  disease.  His  purpose  was  to  study  the  symptoms 
upon  himself  and  the  effect  of  various  remedies,  but  shortly 
after  the  first  symptoms  appeared  he  was  delirious,  and  died  in 
a  few  days.  The  medical  fraternity  in  Peru  erected  a  monu- 
ment to  his  memory  as  a  martyr  to  the  cause  of  science. 

Every  man  employed  in  the  erection  of  the  Verrugas 
bridge,  except  a  few  Indian  laborers  who  were  native  to  the 
valley,  was  seized  by  the  disease,  although  the  water  they 
drank  and  used  in  cooking  was  all  brought  from  Lima  and 
extraordinary  precautions  were  taken  to  protect  them. 

There  is  another  disease  called  "sirroche,"  which  attacks 
persons  who  remove  rapidly  from  a  lower  to  a  higher  altitude. 
This  prevails  throughout  the  Andes,  and  although  it  is  seldom 
fatal,  it  reduces  the  vitality  of  delicate  persons  so  that  other 
diseases  of  a  more  serious  character  develop.  Sirroche  is 
attended  with  dizziness,  cold  hands  and  feet,  nausea  and  a  rush 
to  the  head  of  blood,  which  often  bursts  from  the  nostrils  and 
ears.  There  is  no  cure  for  it  any  more  than  for  seasickness, 
and  persons  who  are  attacked  simply  have  to  lie  down  and 
endure  it  until  they  can  be  taken  to  lower  ground,  where  they 
soon  recover  their  normal  condition. 

It  is  estimated  that  the  construction  of  the  Oroya  railroad 
cost  Peru  7,000  lives  from  pestilence  and  accidents,  landslides 
and  explosions.  The  cost  in  human  life  was  no  obstacle, 
however.  When  a  sufficient  number  of  peons  could  not  be 
obtained  Chinese  coolies  were  imported. 

Throughout  the  entire  gorge  it  was  necessary  to  lower  men 
by  ropes  over  the  edges  of  the  precipices  to  drill  holes  in  the 
rocks  and  charge  them  with  blasting  powder  in  order  to  get  a 
place  to  stand  on,  and  this  reckless  method  of  construction 
was  attended  by  frequent  casualties.  A  curious  accident 
occurred  at  a  place  called  Tambo  de  Viso  Puente.  The  water 
for  the  construction  hands  had  to  be  brought  down  the  valley 
in  pipes  and  a  plumber  was  soldering  a  leak  when  a  caravan 
of  burros  loaded  with  powder  came  up  the  trail.  One  of  them 
rubbed  against  the  plumber,  who  impatiently  struck  at  the 


200   BETWEEN  THE  ANDES  AND  THE  OCEAN 

animal  with  his  hot  iron,  which,  in  some  way,  came  in  contact 
with  the  powder  and  caused  an  explosion  that  blew  a  gang  of 
300  or  400  workmen  and  the  entire  train  of  burros  over  the 
precipice  into  a  chasm  3,000  feet  below. 

The  scenic  grandeur  of  the  Andes  is  nowhere  more  impress- 
ive than  along  the  canyon  of  the  Rimac  River,  through  which 
this  railroad  runs,  and  one  can  obtain  here  better  than  any- 
where else  an  idea  of  the  struggle  which  the  Incas  made  to 
sustain  themselves  among  these  inhospitable  mountains.  A 
survey  of  their  remains  justifies  the  estimates  that  have  been 
made  of  their  enormous  population,  and  the  people  who  for 
centuries  herded  in  these  narrow  valleys  left  traces  of  industry 
and  patience  which  have  a  pathos  as  well  as  a  deep  ethnolog- 
ical interest.  They  built  their  dwellings  upon  the  rocks  and 
carried  their  dead  to  be  buried  in  the  desert  on  the  sea  coast 
in  order  to  utilize  every  inch  of  soil  in  the  mountains  for 
agriculture.  They  terraced  every  hill  and  mountain  side  like 
the  steps  of  a  mighty  stairway.  They  filled  with  soil  every 
crevice  in  the  rocks  and  brought  guano  from  the  islands  of  the 
sea  to  fertilize  their  hanging  gardens  until  not  an  inch  of 
surface  that  could  grow  a  stalk  of  maize  was  left  unproductive. 

Their  irrigation  system  shows  engineering  skill  as  great  as 
that  which  made  the  Oroya  railroad  famous.  Their  acequias, 
which  carried  water  to  the  thirsty  crops  for  1,000  years,  are 
still  visible  in  every  direction,  and  some  of  them  are  yet  in 
use  by  the  Indians,  who  grow  corn,  wheat  and  potatoes  on  the 
mighty  slopes.  The  ditches  cling  around  the  hills,  sustained 
by  walls  of  masonry  and  are  frequently  carried  through  tun- 
nels. Dams  and  reservoirs  were  erected  to  collect  the  water 
that  filtered  down  from  the  melting  snows,  and  it  was  distrib- 
uted by  regulations  similar  to  those  that  govern  the  present 
generation. 

In  this  struggle  for  existence  the  Incas  established  and 
sustained  a  government  by  which  the  equal  rights  of  every 
human  being  were  recognized.  By  the  logic  of  nature  the 
sun,  which  rarely  penetrates  this  gloomy  canyon,  and  the  great 
sea,  which  impressed  the  dweller  in  the  mountains  with  rever- 
ence and  awe,  were  looked  upon  as  the  sources  of  life  and 


I         THE   REMARKABLE   RAILWAYS   OF   PERU    201 

happiness,  and  they,  with  the  Creator,  were  deified  in  a  trinity 
before  whom  the  empire  bowed. 

Out  in  the  Rocky  mountains  we  often  hear  of  the  difficulty 
of  "farming  the  scenery,"  but  in  the  Rimac  valley  such  enter- 
prises were  not  found  unprofitable  by  the  Incas.  Their  little 
farms  stood  on  end  in  many  places  and  hung  with  such  narrow 
margins  that  we  wonder  the  mighty  winds  which  sweep  down 
the  gorges  did  not  blow  them  away.  Although  the  mountains 
look  so  brown  and  bare,  they  are  not  denuded  of  all  vegeta- 
tion. The  hoofs  of  goats  and  burros  hunting  for  food  on  the 
hillsides  have  produced  an  effect  which  suggests  the  wrinkles 
on  an  alligator  skin,  and  a  number  of  wild  flowers  modestly 
contribute  to  the  decoration  of  the  rugged  landscape.  Pink 
marguerites,  wild  heliotrope,  foxglove,  ragged  robins,  mustard 
flowers,  buttercups,  wild  geranium,  which  the  natives  call 
maniarrillon,  the  old-fashioned  lady  slipper,  which  they  call 
cancelleria,  and  a  beautiful  lily  which  appears  on  St.  John's 
day  and  is  called  amancaja — all  these  can  be  found  in  the  most 
unexpected  places,  smiling  as  cheerfully  and  shedding  a 
perfume  as  sweet  as  they  might  offer  in  the  most  encourag- 
ing surroundings. 

About  thirty  miles  from  Lima  a  little  town  called  Chosica 
has  become  famous  as  a  health  resort,  and  is  much  sought  by 
people  of  the  city  in  both  summer  and  winter  because  of  its 
even  and  delicious  temperature.  Fifty  miles  farther  on,  and 
8,000  feet  above  the  sea,  is  Matucana,  another  favorite  stop- 
ping place  for  invalids,  where  the  atmosphere  and  the  tem- 
perature are  said  always  to  be  the  same.  There  are  several 
smaller  towns  at  intervals,  from  which  wool,  ore,  vegetables 
and  other  produce  are  shipped  to  Lima,  but  the  railway  could 
never  be  made  self-supporting  by  its  local  traffic.  It  is  useful 
and  necessary  for  the  transportation  of  merchandise  and  min- 
erals between  the  mining  settlements  in  the  interior  and  the 
sea,  but  the  cost  of  maintenance  makes  dividends  impossible. 

About  ten  years  ago  a  syndicate  of  capitalists  organized  by 
Michael  P.  Grace  of  New  York  and  Lord  Donoughmore  of 
London,  assumed  the  entire  foreign  debt  of  Peru,  which 
amounted  to  several  hundred  million  dollars,  and  received  as 


202    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE  OCEAN 

compensation  a  lease  for  sixty-six  years  of  all  the  government 
railways,  with  a  mileage  of  8io  miles,  which  cost  nearly 
$87,000,000,  with  the  stipulation  that  the  syndicate  would 
improve  and  extend  them  by  at  least  350  miles.  In  addition 
to  the  railways  the  corporation  obtained  a  similar  lease  of  the 
docks  at  all  the  principal  ports  except  Callao,  the  exclusive 
right  of  navigation  on  Lake  Titicaca,  all  the  guano  except  that 
on  the  Chincha  Islands,  and  the  privilege  of  working  the 
famous  Cerro  de  Pasco  mines,  which  have  the  reputation  of 
being  among  the  richest  in  the  world.  Peru  agreed  to  pay 
an  annual  subsidy  for  thirty  years  of  $400,000  gold,  which  was 
to  represent  the  interest  upon  money  borrowed  by  the  corpo- 
ration for  the  repair  and  extension  of  the  railroads. 

The  syndicate  redeemed  the  bonds  of  the  government  that 
were  outstanding  and  released  Peru  from  all  its  foreign 
obligations.  It  took  charge  of  the  railways  and  immediately 
added  twenty-five  miles  to  the  southern  road  toward  Cuzco, 
and  extended  the  famous  Oroya  road  from  the  town  of  Chicla 
to  Oroya,  thus  giving  an  outlet  to  the  famous  Casapalca  mines, 
operated  by  Backus  &  Johnston,  formerly  of  Cleveland,  Ohio, 
who  have  erected  an  extensive  modern  smelter  near  by ;  but 
no  further  railway  construction  has  been  carried  out  as  stipu- 
lated in  the  contract.  Now  the  Peruvian  corporation  and  the 
government  are  in  a  stubborn  quarrel,  each  claiming  that  the 
other  has  failed  to  observe  its  provisions  and  has  been  guilty 
of  bad  faith. 

The  Cerro  de  Pasco  mines  were  worked  by  the  Jesuits  and 
yielded  hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars  under  the  most  primi- 
tive methods  of  extracting  and  reducing  the  ore.  They  were 
discovered  by  an  Indian  shepherd  who  felt  cold  one  night 
while  he  was  watching  his  sheep  and  piled  together  a  few 
stones  under  the  lee  of  which  he  built  a  fire.  In  the  morning 
he  noticed  that  the  heat  had  melted  one  of  the  stones  and  a 
glistening  substance  had  appeared  upon  it.  He  took  it  home 
and  showed  it  to  the  priest.  The  priest  took  charge  of  the 
sample  and  from  1630  to  1824,  while  the  records  were  kept  by 
the  church,  that  Indian's  accidental  discovery  resulted  in  the 
extraction  of  27,200  tons  of  pure  silver 


THE   REMARKABLE   RAILWAYS   OF   PERU     203 

The  ore  is  not  in  fissure  veins,  but  is  similar  to  the  carbon- 
ates of  Leadville,  and  experts  claim  that  they  can  work  it  for 
$3  a  ton.  The  value  of  the  tailings  which  the  priests  and 
Indians  left  during  three  centuries  is  said  to  be  from  $40  to 
$100  a  ton,  if  they  could  be  reached  by  machinery,  or  facili- 
ties for  transportation. 

A  large  part  of  the  Cerro  de  Pasco  district  is  now  occupied 
by  native  miners,  who  are  pegging  away  in  the  old-fashioned 
way,  losing  as  much  as  they  gain,  and  securing  about  one- 
quarter  of  the  profit  they  might  enjoy  if  they  could  have  the 
use  of  improved  machinery.  There  are  also  a  number  of  old 
mines  which  were  worked  by  the  Jesuits  during  colonial  times 
and  afterward  by  the  government,  but  have  been  given  up 
since  silver  became  so  abundant  elsewhere  and  have  been 
allowed  to  fill  with  water.  It  is  estimated  that  $750,000  would 
clean  up  the  old  mines  and  put  them  in  working  order,  but  it 
is  useless  to  spend  money  there  without  a  railroad  to  haul  in 
the  machinery  and  haul  out  the  ore,  or  the  bullion. 

There  is  no  limit  to  the  mining  possibilities  of  Peru.  The 
mineral  deposits  have  never  been  measured,  but  everybody 
concedes  that  the  country  is,  in  all  sorts  of  precious  and  useful 
metals,  beyond  comparison.  But  Peru  will  never  be  anything 
until  it  has  transportation  facilities.  The  burro  may  be  a  good 
pioneer,  but  he  is  not  a  success  in  handling  a  heavy  traffic. 
Although  trains  of  burros  compete  with  the  railroads  in  this 
country  in  carrying  ore  down  and  other  freight  back  into  the 
mountains,  a  distance  of  more  than  100  miles  and  more  than 
250  miles  in  Bolivia,  across  the  sandy  desert,  where  it  is  fifty 
or  sixty  miles  between  drinks,  they  will  never  build  up  an 
empire  such  as  should  exist  on  this  coast.  It  takes  three 
weeks,  I  am  told,  for  burro  trains  to  go  from  Cerro  de  Pasco 
to  Callao  laden  with  ore,  yet  they  compete  with  the  railroad 
which  lacks  sixty-three  miles  of  completion.  The  ore  is  now 
carried  over  that  interval  on  the  backs  of  llamas. 

The  rainless  region,  the  desert  strip,  which  lies  between 
the  Andes  and  the  ocean  along  this  coast,  is  cleft  at  intervals 
by  narrow  little  valleys,  down  which  the  melting  snows  from 
the  mountains  find  their  way  and  bring  fertility  with  them. 


S04   BETWEEN  THE   ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

The  valleys  are  separated  from  each  other  by  ranges  of  foot- 
hills that  support  the  main  chain  at  right  angles  like  a  series 
of  buttresses,  and  by  trackless  deserts  which  are  shut  in  on  all 
sides  except  where  they  run  down  to  the  sea.  In  several  of 
these  valleys  are  railroads  running  into  the  interior  for  a 
distance  of  from  twenty  to  fifty  miles.  Most  of  them  were 
built  under  the  direction,  or  at  least  the  inspiration,  of  Henry 
Meigs.  He  succeeded  in  stimulating  the  national  pride  and 
enterprise  of  the  people,  and  in  inducing  the  government  to 
borrow  $250,000,000  or  more  to  build  railroads.  The  con- 
struction bonds  were  sold  at  various  rates,  often  at  a  discount 
of  fifty  per  cent,  and  a  good  deal  of  the  money  was  stolen. 
Most  of  the  locomotives  and  rolling  stock  were  bought  in  the 
United  States,  but  have  not  been  renewed  for  many  years, 
and  are,  generally  speaking,  in  a  bad  condition.  The  locomo- 
tive which  hauled  us  up  the  Oroya  railroad,  for  example,  was 
built  in  Paterson,  N.  J.,  in  1875. 

The  first  of  the  little  spurs  of  railroad  which  run  into  the 
interior  from  the  sea  connects  Paita  and  Piura,  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  republic,  through  a  very  fertile  valley,  which  is 
well  watered  and  produces  large  crops.  Engineers  claim  that 
this  line  would  furnish  the  shortest  route  to  the  head  of 
navigation,  on  the  Amazon,  and  several  surveys  have  been 
made.  It  is  asserted  that  the  American  gunboat  Wilmington, 
in  its  recent  voyage  up  the  affluents  of  the  Amazon,  reached 
a  point  in  Peru,  that  is  less  than  200  miles  from  the  Pacific 
ocean.  The  extension  of  the  Paita  &  Piura  railroad  over  the 
Cordilleras  probably  would  be  comparatively  easy. 

It  has  already  been  demonstrated  that  a  superior  grade  of 
coffee  can  be  produced  upon  the  Atlantic  slopes  of  Peru,  and 
within  five  days'  ride  on  a  mule  from  the  terminus  of  the 
Oroya  road  is  a  colony  of  Europeans,  mostly  Germans  and 
Englishmen,  who  have  set  out  large  plantations  and  are  said 
to  be  doing  well.  They  are  remote  from  civilization  and  in 
the  midst  of  a  wilderness,  but  the  climate  is  said  to  be  good 
and  the  soil  adapted  to  the  production  of  coffee  similar 
to  that  of  the  Yungas  valley  of  Bolivia,  which  is  claimed  to 
be  the  best  in  the  world.     But  that  industry,  like  mining,  will 


THE  REMARKABLE   RAILWAYS   OF   PERU     205 

never  become  important  imtil  transportation  facilities  are  pro- 
vided. 

Railroad  construction  is,  of  course,  very  expensive.  Labor 
is  cheap,  but  scarce.  They  pay  fifty  or  sixty  cents  a  day  in 
silver  for  construction  hands,  and  very  good  ones,  but  on  the 
desert  coast  grading  is  extremely  difficult  because  of  the 
shifting  sands,  and  when  the  railway  builders  get  into 
the  mountains  they  have  to  cut  their  way  through  stone. 


i 


XIV 
THE   MECCA  OF  A  PREHISTORIC  RACE 

About  twenty  miles  south  of  Lima,  in  the  midst  of  the 
desert  that  lines  the  coast,  are  the  ruins  of  the  ancient  temple 
to  Pachacamac,  the  Christ  of  the  Incas.  According  to  their 
theology  a  supreme  being  called  Con,  without  human  form  or 
material  body,  but  an  invisible,  omniscient  and  omnipotent 
spirit,  created  the  world,  elevated  the  mountains,  excavated 
the  valleys  and  filled  with  water  the  rivers  and  the  ocean. 
He  gave  life  to  mankind  and  provided  human  beings  with  all 
things  necessary  for  their  well  being  and  happiness.  Thus, 
blessed  abundantly  with  the  gifts  of  providence,  the  world 
remained  happy  for  ages,  until  the  human  race  became  vicious 
and  corrupt.  Con,  enraged  because  of  this  disrespect  and 
ingratitude  to  himself,  turned  the  fertile  fields  into  sterile 
deserts  and  condemned  his  creatures  to  misery,  until  Pacha- 
camac, the  son  of  Con,  appeared  upon  earth,  took  charge  of 
the  government  of  the  world,  re-created  and  restored  all  that 
had  been  condemned  by  his  father  and  was  welcomed  as  a 
redeemer.  New  generations  raised  sumptuous  temples  in  his 
honor  upon  the  edge  of  the  sea  and  there  worshiped  him  with 
an  idolatry  that  has  seldom  had  a  parallel  in  human  history. 

The  worshipers  of  Pachacamac  never  invoked  his  name 
without  throwing  themselves  upon  the  ground,  kissing  the 
earth,  and  making  manifestations  of  adoration  and  self-abase- 
ment. This  temple  of  Pachacamac  was  the  only  one  through- 
out the  entire  country  dedicated  to  that  supreme  being,  and 
pilgrims  from  all  parts  of  the  empire  were  constantly  passing 
to  and  from  that  sacred  place  as  the  followers  of  Mahomet 
go  to  Mecca.  Indeed,  it  was  considered  the  duty  of  every 
inhabitant  at  least  once  in  his  lifetime  to  offer  sacrifices  and 
worship  at  Pachacamac,  and  to  be  buried  in  the  neighborhood 

206 


Si 


THE   MECCA   OF  A   PREHISTORIC   RACE       207 

of  the  temple  was  the  supreme  ambition  of  all  believers. 
Around  the  temples  and  palaces  of  the  Incas  were  enormous 
tambos,  or  hotels,  for  the  entertainment  of  pilgrims,  and  on 
the  roads  leading  from  different  parts  of  the  empire  similar 
accommodations  were  provided  by  the  government. 

Immense  buildings,  now  in  ruins,  were  occupied  by  priests 
and  women  who  dedicated  their  lives  to  the  service  of  the  god, 
and  many  nobles  and  princes  erected  stately  structures  in  the 
neighborhood,  which  they  and  their  friends  could  occupy  at 
intervals  when  they  came  to  offer  their  veneration  to  the 
omnipotent  deity  of  their  religion.  Thus  the  city  of  Pacha- 
camac  was  not  only  the  Mecca  but  the  Rome  of  the  Inca  world, 
an  assemblage  of  spacious  edifices  which  were  adorned  with 
enormous  wealth  and  offered  an  alluring  temptation  to  the 
Spaniards,  who  learned  of  its  magnificence  shortly  after  their 
arrival  in  the  country. 

Francisco  Pizarro  sent  his  brother  Hernando  down  there 
from  Cajamarca  to  make  an  investigation  and  seize  whatever 
treasure  he  might  find.  Messengers  were  dispatched  by  the 
Indians  in  advance  and  the  priests,  being  thus  warned,  were 
enabled  to  remove  a  considerable  portion  of  their  treasure,  but 
sufficient  remained  to  satisfy  the  avarice  of  the  Spaniards  for 
the  time  being,  and  extraordinary  stories  are  told  of  the 
amount  of  silver  and  gold  that  was  carried  away  by  Hernando 
after  he  had  destroyed  the  temples  and  the  palaces.  The 
chroniclers  who  accompanied  the  expedition  declared  that  his 
booty  was  twenty-seven  cargas  of  gold — a  carga  was  sixty-two 
and  one-half  pounds — and  16,000  ounces  of  silver,  all  that  400 
men  could  carry  in  packs  upon  their  backs.  It  is  said  also  that 
the  priests  were  able  to  conceal  400  cargas  of  gold  and  82,000 
ounces  of  silver.  Quintero,  the  pilot  of  the  expedition,  asked 
as  his  share  of  the  booty  the  nails  which  were  used  to  fasten 
the  plates  of  gold  to  the  walls  of  the  temples  and  palaces, 
which  were  granted  to  him  and  amounted  in  value  to  4,000 
marks. 

The  ruins  of  Pachacamac  remain  very  much  as  Hernando 
Pizarro  left  them  after  he  despoiled  the  temples  and  palaces 
and  robbed  the  inoffensive  priests  of  their  treasure,  and  they 


208   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

are  the  most  accessible  as  well  as  one  of  the  most  interesting 
examples  of  Inca  architecture. 

We  took  an  early  start.  The  bells  were  clanging  for  early 
mass  from  the  church  towers  in  all  directions  as  we  left  the 
hotel  about  6  o'clock  and  hurried  to  the  railroad  station.  They 
do  not  ring  bells  with  ropes  as  we  do  in  North  America,  but 
pound  them  with  hammers  and  make  such  a  racket  that  a 
stranger  would  suppose  that  all  the  world  was  on  fire  and  that 
the  bell-ringers  were  trying  to  alarm  the  people.  The 
streets  were  full  of  laborers  and  servants  hurrying  to  their 
work,  but  no  carriages  or  street  cars  were  out  so  early,  and 
we  had  to  walk  to  the  station,  where  we  met  Mr.  Dudley,  the 
American  minister;  Mr.  Niell,  the  secretary  of  legation,  and 
Dr.  Max  Uhle,  the  famous  German  scientist,  who  has  been 
engaged  for  years  in  the  investigation  of  Inca  archaeology  and 
spent  ten  months  at  Pachacamac  in  1897  in  the  interest  of  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania.  He  has  recently  returned  to 
Peru  as  the  agent  of  the  American  Exploration  Society,  and 
will  make  another  collection  of  antiquities  for  the  University 
of  California. 

We  took  tickets  to  Chorillos,  the  Newport  of  Peru,  and 
passed  the  little  suburbs  of  Miraflores  and  Barranca,  fashion- 
able summer  resorts  for  the  rich,  and  the  country  seats  of  the 
mighty.  Barren  and  unlovely  is  the  naked  soil  that  lies 
between  the  railway  and  the  ocean,  and  the  mud  walls  that 
divide  the  fields  add  to  the  dismal  picture.  But  wherever  the 
soil  has  been  moistened  trees  and  shrubs  and  flowering 
plants,  fruits,  vegetables  and  eager  vines  spring  up  with 
tropical  luxuriance. 

We  passed  the  parks,  the  botanical  gardens,  the  zoo,  the 
rifle  range  and  the  polo  grounds,  whose  walls  are  hung  with 
flowers.  We  saw  ruins  of  ancient  structures  with  thick  adobe 
walls,  the  same  color  as  the  earth,  which  Professor  Uhle  told 
us  were  the  castles  of  the  nobles  who  ruled  these  parts  before 
the  Spaniards  came.  We  saw  much  evidence  also  of  the  war 
with  Chile.  Nineteen  years  have  not  erased  the  traces  of  that 
awful  struggle.  Roofless  houses,  rifle  pits  and  fortifications 
Still  remain  and  a  monument  marks  the  place  near  Miraflores 


THE   MECCA   OF  A   PREHISTORIC  RACE       209 

where  the  Peruvians  made  their  last  stand  against  the  invaders 
from  Chile ;  where,  after  the  army  had  been  conquered  and 
scattered  at  the  battle  of  Chorillos,  merchants  and  lawyers, 
clerks  and  mechanics,  priests  and  monks — every  one  who 
could  get  a  gun — came  out  from  Lima  and  assisted  in  the 
defense  of  the  city.  Before  reaching  Chorillos  we  pass  a 
handsome  new  building  surrounded  by  high  walls,  with  towers 
for  sharpshooters,  which  is  the  national  military  school,  in 
charge  of  Colonel  Perreau  and  two  other  officers  of  the  French 
army,  who  were  detailed  as  instructors  by  the  president  of 
France  at  the  request  of  the  president  of  Peru. 

Chorillos  is  a  pretty  place  as  Spanish  towns  go,  but  there 
is  no  difference  in  the  arrangement  of  the  houses  at  a  summer 
resort  and  those  of  a  city.  The  streets  are  lined  with  dead 
walls  and  iron  gates,  through  which  you  can  get  a  glimpse  of 
attractive  interiors,  but  the  beautiful  part  of  a  Peruvian  home 
and  the  luxury  enjoyed  by  wealthy  people  is  hidden  from 
strangers  and  revealed  only  to  the  knowledge  of  intimate 
friends. 

The  causal  observer  is  inclined  to  the  opinion  that  people 
here  and  in  other  Spanish  countries  do  not  know  what  comfort 
is,  but  the  old  residenters  rebuke  such  presumption  and  explain 
that  centuries  of  experience  have  demonstrated  that  the  style 
of  architecture  you  find  there  is  much  better  adapted  to  the 
climate  than  such  villas  as  we  admire  at  the  summer  resorts  in 
the  United  States.  Man  has  adapted  himself  to  nature,  and 
what  will  answer  for  one  section  of  this  great  universe  will 
never  do  in  another. 

Saddle  horses  were  to  have  met  us  at  the  railway  station 
at  Chorillos  on  the  arrival  of  our  train,  so  that  we  could  get 
an  early  start  across  the  desert,  but  we  were  doomed  to  the 
exasperating  experience  so  common  to  those  who  deal  with 
Latin  -  Americans.  We  had  to  wait  two  hours  before  the 
animals  were  ready,  and  there  is  no  telling  how  much  longer 
our  departure  would  have  been  delayed  had  it  not  been  for 
the  energetic  efforts  of  Colonel  Perreau  in  our  behalf. 

Some  people  told  us  it  was  twelve  miles  from  Chorillos  to 
Pachacamac,  others   said   it   was  fifteen   and   others  twenty. 


2IO  BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

Spanish  miles  are  of  irregular  length,  but  always  very  long, 
and  their  measurement  depends  upon  the  politeness  of  your 
informant.  It  is  one  of  the  amiable  customs  of  the  country  to 
give  pleasant  information  regardless  of  its  truth,  and  when  a 
caballero  tells  you  it  is  only  six  miles  to  the  next  hacienda, 
when  it  is  really  ten,  he  excuses  the  falsehood  on  the  ground 
of  your  tired  appearance  and  your  anxiety  to  reach  your 
destination  as  soon  as  possble.  But,  whatever  the  distance  of 
Pachacamac  may  be,  'it  is  a  hard  journey,  varied  by  natural 
phenomena  which  divert  the  attention  of  the  traveler. 

We  followed  a  dusty  highway  along  the  base  of  the  naked 
hills  which  surround  Chorillos,  with  the  dust  four  or  five 
inches  deep,  until  we  reached  the  sugar  plantation  called  La 
Villa,  an  extensive  affair  with  several  thousand  acres  in  cane, 
a  fine  plant  of  machinery  from  Philadelphia,  a  narrow-guage 
railroad  to  carry  the  sugar  to  Chorillos  and  a  massive  aqueduct 
of  stone  to  bring  water  from  the  hills  near  by  to  make  the 
wheels  go  round.  A  most  gracious  haciendado  opened  the 
gates  to  let  us  through,  and  after  crossing  a  slimy  savanna 
covered  with  white  alkali,  where  a  few  cattle  grazed,  we 
reached  a  broad  beach,  upon  which  the  surf  rolled  with 
greater  majesty  and  might  than  I  have  ever  seen  before.  The 
spray  leaped  high  into  the  air  when  each  receding  wave  met  a 
new  arrival,  and  great  billows  of  foam  followed  each  other  in 
quick  intervals  with  a  roar  that  made  conversation  difficult. 
Here  the  Pacific  ocean  is  widest  and  an  unbroken  area  of 
water  stretches  for  nearly  8,000  miles,  a  long  journey  for 
waves  to  travel,  and  they  therefore  had  a  right  to  announce 
their  arrival  with  more  than  ordinary  sound  and  ceremony. 
It  is  no  wonder,  too,  that  the  innocent  aborigines  were  so 
impressed  with  the  grandeur  and  the  magnitude  of  the  ocean 
that  they  worshiped  it  as  a  god. 

We  disturbed  a  mass  convention  of  pelicans  that  had  gath- 
ered on  the  beach — wise-looking  old  chaps  with  long  bills  that 
reminded  us  of  South  American  hotel-keepers,  and  an  air  of 
solemnity  and  deliberation  that  cannot  be  approached  by  any 
other  bird  except  a  goose.  There  were  thousands  and  thou- 
sands of  them,  and  they  darkened  the  air  as  they  stretched 


THE   MECCA   OF   A   PREHISTORIC   RACE      211 

their  wings  and  went  clanging  out  to  sea ;  but  they  wouldn't 
move  till  we  were  close  upon  them,  and  regarded  us  with 
evil  eyes.  Beautiful  gulls  with  black  wings  and  soft  white 
breasts  mingled  with  the  pelicans,  and  myriads  of  ducks, 
which  formed  triangles  when  they  flew  away  and  retained  that 
marching  order  until  they  were  out  of  sight. 

At  least  ten  miles  of  beach  was  traversed.  An  ocean  of 
blue  water  on  one  side,  and  an  ocean  of  drifting  sand  upon 
the  other,  which  lay  in  windrows  as  the  wind  had  left  it,  and. 
for  a  background  there  was  a  long  repulsive  mountain,  which 
looked  as  if  it  were  made  out  of  dust,  with  here  and  there 
rocks  protruding  from  the  sand  like  the  elbows  of  a  pauper 
through  a  worn-out  coat.  Then  we  came  upon  a  little  oasis — 
a  clump  of  bamboo  and  date  palms  surrounded  by  grassy 
slopes,  cane  and  fields  of  sugar  cane  and  corn,  which  were 
watered  by  a  little  stream  that  was  able  to  reach  the  sea. 
Beyond  it  rose  a  group  of  three  hills,  covered  with  rambling 
ruins,  the  highest,  458  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  being 
surmounted  by  the  ancient  temple  of  the  sun.  Nearer,  on  an 
intervening  eminence,  were  the  remains  of  a  temple  to  Pacha- 
camac,  which  Dr.  Uhle  told  us  was  erected  centuries  before 
the  Incas  overcame  and  subdued  the  ancient  race  that  inhab- 
ited this  coast  before  them.  We  can  learn  very  little  about 
that  people  or  the  period  in  which  they  lived,  but  we  know 
that  with  cunning  diplomacy  the  Incas  exercised  their  intellec- 
tual superiority  and  grafted  their  own  religion  upon  that  of 
the  nation  which  they  absorbed  into  their  body  politic.  The 
Spaniards  say  that  the  priests  of  the  primitive  faith  were 
corrupted  by  the  Peruvian  monarchs,  who  caused  to  be  con- 
structed this  temple,  dedicated  to  the  sun,  which  was  adorned 
in  the  most  sumptuous  and  ostentatious  manner  and  decorated 
with  treasures  whose  description  makes  us  wonder  how  such 
a  simple  people  could  have  amassed  such  wealth  in  this 
inhospitable  desert. 

There  is  a  striking  parallel  between  the  powers  and  the 
attributes  of  the  emperor  of  China  and  those  of  the  ruler  of 
the  Incas,  as  their  traditions  bear  a  distinct  analogy  to  the 
Mosaic  account  of  the  origin  and  early  history  of  the  humj^  race. 


212    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

At  the  foot  of  the  hills  we  saw,  half  concealed  by  sand,  the 
crumbling  walls  of  edifices  which  were  erected  a  thousand 
years  ago  for  the  shelter  of  pilgrims  who  came  from  the  dis- 
tant provinces  to  present  their  offerings  to  Pachacamac.  Near- 
est the  sea  was  a  convent  of  the  virgins  of  the  sun,  which, 
according  to  the  accounts  of  the  Spanish  invaders,  was  richly 
furnished  and  adorned  with  great  taste.  The  women  who 
lived  there  were  dedicated  to  the  sun*  they  were  the  wives  of 
the  god  and  preserved  the  greatest  seclusion  in  their  cloisters, 
so  that  not  even  the  king  himself  could  enter  the  precinct  of 
their  monastery — a  privilege  that  was  only  enjoyed  by  the 
queen  and  her  daughters.  Under  the  direction  of  competent 
mistresses  these  wives  of  the  sun  were  taught  the  duties  of 
their  sacred  office.  Their  occupations  were  spinning  and 
weaving  robes  for  the  royal  family  and  vestments  for  the 
priests  of  the  finest  vicuna  wool,  in  the  most  brilliant  colors, 
and  embroidered  with  gold  and  precious  stones.  They  also 
brewed  the  chicha,  a  beverage  which  was  extensively  used  in 
the  ceremonies  of  the  temple,  as  well  as  in  the  festivals 

The  great  palace  of  the  Inca,  upon  the  crest  of  a  hill,  is 
roofless,  but  its  walls,  which  are  eight  or  nine  feet  thick,  have 
made  a  heroic  resistance  against  time  and  decay  for  four  cen- 
turies since  the  Spaniards  stripped  them  of  their  splendors. 
The  streets  that  led  to  it  can  be  easily  traced  and  the  watch 
towers  which  guarded  the  zigzag  entrances  are  almost  per- 
fectly preserved.  In  the  center  of  the  palace  is  a  great  hall, 
perhaps  a  hundred  feet  long  by  fifty  in  width,  where  the 
ceremonials  and  the  banquets  of  the  court  are  supposed  to 
have  taken  place.  From  descriptions  given  of  this  apartment 
by  the  chroniclers  of  early  times,  it  must  have  been  magnifi- 
cent. The  door  was  of  gold,  Dr.  Tschudi  says,  richly  inlaid 
with  precious  stones  and  coral,  and  at  the  western  end,  toward 
the  sea  and  facing  the  rising  sun,  are  three  platforms  or 
terraces  upon  which  the  emperor,  the  high  priests  and  other 
dignitaries  used  to  preside  over  the  festivities. 

Behind  this  great  room  are  the  quarters  in  which  it  is 
believed  that  Hernando  Pizarro  was  entertained  before  he 
disclosed  his  cruel  purpose.     Surrounding  the  palace  are  many 


THE   MECCA   OF  A   PREHISTORIC   RACE      213 

buildings  of  more  or  less  magnitude,  and  there  are  a  series  of 
half -ruined  walls  showing  that  Pachacamac  was  laid  out  in  a 
manner  similar  to  Pekin,  one  city  within  another. 

The  area  unoccupied  by  buildings  was  used  for  burial  pur- 
poses, and  a  vast  cemetery  extends  indefinitely  in  all  direc- 
tions. Faith  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul  was  one  of  the 
fundamental  principles  of  the  Peruvian  religion.  The 
.aborigines  believed  that  after  death  the  just  went  to  a  beauti- 
ful and  pleasant  place,  like  the  heaven  of  the  Christians  and 
the  nirvana  of  the  Hindoos,  while  the  souls  of  the  sinful  were 
tormented  in  another  place,  but  both  pursued  the  same  occu- 
pations after  death  that  they  followed  while  living.  The 
theory  of  a  resurrection  of  the  body  induced  them  to  preserve 
the  dead  with  great  care  and  to  bury  with  them  the  utensils 
and  ornaments  which  they  used  in  life.  Taking  advantage 
of  this  custom,  archaeologists  and  treasure-seekers  have  exca- 
vated a  large  area  in  search  of  gold  and  silver  ornaments, 
vessels  of  pottery  and  other  interesting  objects  which  the 
graves  contain.  The  place  is  a  drear  and  repulsive  Golgotha, 
covered  with  skulls  and  bleached  bones,  broken  pottery  and 
cerements  which  have  been  stripped  from  the  mummies. 
There  is  no  telling  how  many  millions  were  buried  here,  but 
the  bodies  lie  in  layers  and  very  close  to  each  other,  for  it  was 
the  ambition  of  every  individual  in  the  great  Inca  empire  to 
have  his  bones  lie  in  this  consecrated  ground. 

The  mummies  are  buried  in  a  sitting  posture,  with  the 
knees  under  the  chin,  and  are  wrapped  in  bundles  with  a  net- 
work of  rope  around  them  very  skillfully  done.  Some  of  the 
wrappings  are  fine  fabrics  of  cotton,  which  have  not  lost  their 
luster  during  the  centuries  they  have  lain  in  the  soil.  Ear- 
rings, bracelets,  anklets,  necklaces  and  other  ornaments  of 
silver  and  gold  are  frequently  found,  so  frequently  as  to  induce 
many  persons  to  make  a  business  of  digging  up  the  cemeter- 
ies and  robbing  the  dead.  They  located  the  place  where  the 
rich  were  laid,  and  that  portion  of  the  cemetery  has  been 
thoroughly  explored. 

Both  the  sea  and  the  desert  have  encroached  upon  the 
ancient  city.     A  considerable  portion  of  it  has  been  buried 


214   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

under  the  drifting  sand,  and  in  1586  an  earthquake  separated 
from  the  mainland  a  noble  promontory,  which  now,  gray  with 
guano  that  cannot  be  reached  because  of  the  surf,  stands  as  a 
silent  sentinel  guarding  the  remnant  of  an  extinct  civilization. 
The  vast  plain,  covered  with  roofless  ruins,  bears  mute  but 
impressive  testimony  to  the  thorough  manner  in  which  the 
Spaniards  subdued  the  country.  We  ate  our  luncheon  under 
the  shade  of  the  walls  of  the  Temple  of  the  Virgins,  and  a 
daughter  of  the  Incas  brought  on  her  broad  back  a  bundle  of 
juicy  cane,  bound  with  a  rope,  to  feed  our  horses. 

The  coast  of  South  America  has  been  called  a  panorama  of 
desolation,  being  a  constant  succession  of  bleak  and  barren 
cliffs,  with  scarcely  a  lovely  thing  for  1,500  miles.  Occasion- 
ally a  stream  makes  its  way  from  the  mountains  to  the  ocean, 
and  leaves  a  line  of  green  that  is  perpetual  and  a  fertility  that 
is  unsurpassed.  Such  a  place  is  Pisco,  the  first  stopping  place 
of  the  steamer  south  of  Callao,  where  a  little  river  irrigates  a 
broad  valley  that  produces  some  of  the  finest  grapes  in  the 
world.  From  Pisco  come  the  wine  and  brandy  that  bears  that 
name  and  the  famous  cordial  called  *  *  Italia, ' '  which  is  unsur- 
passed as  a  stimulant ;  but  the  quantity  produced  is  so  small 
that  it  is  scarcely  sufficient  for  local  consumption  and  does  not 
find  its  way  into  the  world's  markets. 

Near  Pisco  an  Italian  colony  has  recently  been  established, 
which  will  extend  the  cultivated  area  a  considerable  degree, 
and  there  is  no  limit  to  its  productiveness  wherever  water  can 
be  brought  to  the  soil. 

There  is  no  harbor  along  the  coast  until  you  reach 
Coquimbo,  the  first  port  north  of  Valparaiso.  At  all  the 
other  places  the  steamers  are  compelled  to  anchor  in  an  open 
roadstead  out  beyond  the  surf  and  passengers  and  freight  are 
transferred  by  means  of  lighters  through  the  breakers  in  a 
manner  that  looks  desperate  and  dangerous,  but  is  seldom 
attended  with  accidents.  Human  beings  and  packages  of 
merchandise  are  hoisted  from  the  lighters  to  the  decks  with 
cranes  and  tackle,  and  the  experience  of  landing  is  not  such  as 
to  encourage  nervous  and  timid  people  to  cruise  up  and  down 
this   coast.      The   seasickness  in   the    lighters  is   also   much 


THE   MECCA  OF   A   PREHISTORIC   RACE       215 

greater  than  upon  the  steamers,  and  passengers  who  are  lucky 
enough  to  be  able  to  remain  on  board  are  furnished  with  excit- 
ing and  sometimes  distressing  spectacles  at  every  port. 

At  some  ports  iron  moles  or  piers  have  been  extended  into 
the  water  beyond  the  breakers,  which  make  embarkation  more 
comfortable  and  less  dangerous,  but  at  almost  every  place  you 
wonder  what  possessed  people  to  start  a  town  at  such  an 
inconvenient  and  uninviting  location.  This  problem  is  solved 
by  a  short  journey  into  the  interior,  for,  hidden  by  the  foot- 
hills back  of  each  of  these  little  ports,  is  a  fertile  and  produc- 
tive valley  from  which  sugar,  rice  and  other  agricultural 
staples  are  shipped  in  large  quantities,  and  often  trails  lead 
out  to  mines  of  copper,  silver  and  antimony  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, which  yield  ore  so  rich  that  it  is  sent  to  London  in  bags 
like  coffee  or  com. 

On  the  face  of  a  great  rock  which  rises  from  the  ocean 
south  of  Pisco  and  shows  a  smooth  and  unbroken  surface  to 
the  western  sun  is  carved  a  representation  of  an  eight-armed 
candlestick,  about  100  feet  high  and  fifty  feet  across  from  end 
to  end  of  its  longest  branches.  It  is  perfect  in  symmetry,  and 
is  said  to  be  carved  in  lines  about  a  foot  deep  and  a  yard  wide. 
When  and  how  this  phenomenon  occurred  no  one  can  tell.  It 
has  been  there  since  the  Spaniards  came  to  this  country,  and 
of  course  superstitious  people  attribute  its  origin  to  a  miracle. 
One  of  the  stories  is  that  St.  James  dropped  it  when  he  came 
to  Peru  to  assist  Pizarro  and  the  conquistadores  in  driving  the 
Incas  out  of  their  ancient  homes. 

Sometimes,  when  there  has  been  a  strong  wind  over  the 
desert,  the  candlestick  is  covered  with  the  drifting  sand,  and 
the  padre  in  the  nearest  village  goes  down  with  a  lot  of 
Indians  to  dig  it  out. 

According  to  ofiicial  statistics  in  the  archives  of  the  old 
palace  in  Lima,  the  value  of  the  silver  produced  in  Peru 
between  1630  and  1803  was  $1,232,000,000.  The  mines  of 
Hualgayoc,  Huantajaya  and  Cerro  del  Pasco  alone  yielded 
$849,445,500  during  that  period. 

The  deposits  of  guano  found  along  the  coast  are  almost  as 
valuable,  and  the  shipments  from  the  Chincha  islands  during 


2i6    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

the  nine  years  between  185 1  and  i860  were  2,860,000  tons.  In 
1875  the  guano  exports  amounted  to  378,683  tons  and  were 
valued  at  $20,000,000,  and  the  nitrate  beds,  which  have  been 
worked  in  the  province  of  Tarapaca  since  1830,  have  yielded 
equal  wealth.  In  1875  the  exports  were  326,869  tons,  in  1878, 
269,327  toDS.  In  1880  the  exports  were  240,600  tons,  in  1881, 
385,984  tons,  and  in  1882  they  reached  the  enormous  total  of 
535,151  tons. 

The  average  annual  shipments  were  valued  between 
$25,000,000  and  $30,000,000,  and  this  was  a  clear  profit  to  a 
population  that  never  reached  2,000,000,  and  three-fourths  of 
whom  were  Indians,  who  had  no  share  in  its  benefit.  It  was 
an  epidemic  of  riches,  and  instead  of  wisely  hoarding  her 
sources  of  wealth  and  protecting  them,  the  government  of 
Peru,  like  the  people,  plunged  into  a  career  of  reckless  extrav- 
agance that  has  no  parallel  in  national  history.  The  exhausted 
lands  of  the  old  world  required  fertilizers  to  revive  them,  and 
their  owners  paid  high  prices  for  what  cost  Peru  nothing. 

Guano  is  found  only  in  rainless  regions.  There  are  said  to 
be  some  deposits  on  the  coast  of  Mexico  and  among  the 
islands  of  the  Gulf  of  California,  but  they  have  never  been 
worked  with  much  profit,  and  it  is  along  the  arid  deserts  west 
of  the  Andes  where  the  rain  never  falls,  that  the  greatest 
wealth  has  been  derived  from  this  peculiar  source. 

Guano  is  a  mixture  of  the  excrement  of  birds  and  seals, 
the  decomposed  bodies  of  both  and  the  bones  of  the  fishes 
which  they  have  taken  upon  the  land  for  food.  Along  the 
coast  of  Peru  to-day  are  millions  of  sea  birds  whose  progen- 
itors have  been  there  for  centuries.  The  sky  is  often  dark- 
ened with  them,  and  they  cast  a  shadow  upon  the  ocean's 
surface  as  they  fly  between  the  islands  upon  which  they 
roost  and  feed.  These  islands  are  swarming  with  seals  also ; 
the  rocky  shores  are  fringed  with  multitudes  of  them  beyond 
the  power  of  man  to  number.  Their  fur  is  of  no  value  because 
of  the  warm  climate  of  this  latitude.  They  live  on  the 
islands  with  the  birds.  Here  they  both  feed  and  die  and 
decay  with  other  animal  life  which  they  bring  from  the  ocean. 
There  have  been  no  rains  to  wash  it  away,  and  the  wind 


THE   MECCA  OF  A   PREHISTORIC   RACE       217 

scarcely  ever  rises  above  a  gentle  breeze,  so  that  it  was  allowed 
to  accumulate  for  ages,  until  in  some  places  the  deposits  were 
hundreds  of  feet  deep,  dried  and  baked  by  the  tropical  sun. 

The  amount  of  money  Peru  gained  from  her  guano  deposits 
cannot  be  estimated  more  accurately  than  the  value  of  the 
plunder  which  the  Spaniards  obtained  in  the  Inca  palaces  and 
temples,  and  had  it  been  carefully  husbanded  it  might  have 
been  a  perpetual  source  of  wealth,  making  taxation  unneces- 
sary, providing  means  for  the  development  of  other  material 
resources  and  paying  the  cost  of  internal  improvements  and 
for  the  education  of  the  people,  which  is  necessary  for  the 
healthful  life  of  any  nation.  There  never  was  a  country  more 
bountifully  blessed  by  nature  with  an  easy  road  to  riches,  but 
the  greater  part  has  been  squandered,  and  comparatively  little 
remains,  which  is  now  being  shipped  to  Europe  at  the  rate  of 
30,000  or  40,000  tons  a  year. 


XV 
OVER  THE  MOUNTAINS  AND  DESERTS  TO  BOLIVIA 

There  are  two  ways  to  reach  Bolivia.  A  narrow-guage 
railway  runs  from  the  port  of  Antofogasta  across  the  desert 
and  over  the  mountains  to  the  mining  district,  of  which  Oruro 
is  the  capital,  and  there  is  a  standard-gauge  road  from  the 
port  of  Mollendo,  called  the  Southern  Railway  of  Peru,  via 
Arequipa,  to  Puno,  on  Lake  Titicaca.  There  you  take  a 
steamer  for  the  little  town  of  Chillilaya,  on  the  southern 
shore  of  that  remarkable  body  of  water.  There  a  stagecoach 
of  a  primitive  character  carries  passengers  to  the  city  of  La 
Paz,  the  most  progressive  town  and  the  present  capital  of 
Bolivia.  The  stage  ride  is  forty-five  miles  over  a  road  that  is 
fairly  good,  and  it  is  made  with  comparative  comfort,  teams  of 
six  and  eight  mules  galloping  the  entire  distance  at  the  top  of 
their  speed. 

It  took  a  great  deal  of  nerve  to  build  the  road  to  Puno,  but 
it  was  American  nerve  and  American  genius  that  overcame 
the  Cordilleras  and  the  deserts  and  found  a  path  through  the 
gorges  and  along  the  mountain  sides  in  a  manner  that  will 
always  excite  amazement  among  ordinary  people  and  admi- 
ration among  engineers.  It  is  often  said  that  money  and 
science  can  accomplish  everything.  Even  Archimedes  offered 
to  raise  the  world  if  some  one  would  give  him  another  planet 
to  stand  on,  and  that  principle  is  illustrated  by  the  Puno  rail- 
road. It  was  a  triumph  of  energetic  and  brainy  men,  who, 
however,  did  not  have  to  count  the  cost.  The  government 
of  Peru  paid  the  bills  at  a  time  when  the  republic  was  rolling 
in  riches,  when  the  mines  of  the  Andes  were  pouring  out  a 
silver  stream  and  the  islands  of  the  sea  were  furnishing  an 
even  more  valuable  contribution  to  the  public  treasury  in  the 
form  of  guano. 

218 


^  OF  THB        "K 

UNIVERSITY 


OVER  THE   MOUNTAINS   TO   BOLIVIA         219 

It  was  the  first  great  mountain  road  to  be  built.  It  was 
the  pioneer  in  that  line  of  engineering  which  carves  a  right  of 
way  on  the  breast  of  a  precipice  and  adopts  the  longest  possi- 
ble distance  between  two  points  to  make  the  grade.  There 
may  be  more  remarkable  pieces  of  railway  construction  in 
Colorado  nowadays,  but  there  was  nothing  to  compare  with  the 
Puno  road  when  it  was  built  from  the  ocean  over  the  backbone 
of  the  continent  and  climbed  14,666  feet  across  a  desert,  in 
a  distance  of  223  miles. 

John  L.  Thorndike  of  Boston  was  the  engineer.  He  still 
lives  in  Lima.  It  is  said  that  when  a  party  of  his  assistants 
had  gone  up  and  down  the  different  gorges  and  over  all  the 
mountain  trails,  and  after  months  of  consultation  and  com- 
parison of  notes  had  laid  out  the  profile  of  the  road,  Thorn- 
dike,  their  chief,  put  a  blue  print  in  his  pocket,  got  aboard  a 
mule  and  started  up  the  line  proposed.  He  rode  for  two  days 
without  looking  at  the  blue  print,  but  made  a  careful  exam- 
ination of  the  paths  that  the  goats  had  surveyed  in  their 
search  for  the  bunch  grass  that  grows  in  the  sand.  Then  he 
returned  to  the  office  at  Islay,  and  with  his  pencil  laid  out  the 
line. 

The  town  of  Mollendo,  the  ocean  terminus  of  the  railway, 
is  built  upon  a  rock  and  extends  into  the  ocean  and  rises  to 
the  height  of  about  100  feet.  The  face  is  irregular  and  ugly- 
looking  crags  project  in  all  directions  and  make  the  landing 
look  very  dangerous,  although  in  reality  they  are  a  protection 
by  breaking  the  force  of  the  surf  that  rolls  in  from  the  Pacific. 
Behind  a  cluster  of  these  rocks  is  a  little  pier,  where  the 
lighters  discharge  their  passengers  and  freight  whenever  the 
weather  will  allow  such  work  to  be  done.  It  isn't  every  day 
that  people  can  land  at  Mollendo.  Sometimes  passengers  on 
the  steamers  have  to  continue  to  the  next  port  and  remain 
their  until  the  surf  subsides,  but  we  happened  to  have  a  com- 
fortable landing  and  were  cordially  welcomed  by  Mr.  Turner, 
the  local  manager  of  the  railway,  and  Don  Enrique  Meiers, 
United  States  consul,  who  is  the  most  influential  and  prosper- 
ous man  in  the  place. 

All  the  water  used  by  the  people  of  Mollendo  is  brought  in 


220   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

an  eight-inch  iron  pipe  a  distance  of  eighty-five  miles  from  the 
Chile  River,  which  is  tapped  in  the  mountains  at  a  height  of 
7,275  feet  above  the  sea  level.  The  pipe  lies  partly  under- 
ground and  partly  on  the  surface  along  the  line  of  the  railway, 
and  was  laid  about  thirty  years  ago  for  the  railway  company 
as  a  matter  of  necessity  to  supply  water  to  its  shops  at  Mol- 
lendo  and  its  tanks  and  stations  along  the  way.  Until  that 
time  the  people  of  Mollendo  were  dependent  upon  water 
brought  in  tank  steamers  from  more  favored  places  up  the 
coast,  but  now  the  railway  company  supplies  the  public  at  an 
average  rate  of  $24  a  year  per  family.  This  water  pipe  is  one 
of  the  great  achievements  of  modern  enterprise  in  South 
America,  for  without  it  the  railway  could  not  exist,  and  the 
water  it  brings  is  the  source  of  life  and  productiveness  to 
many  important  plantations.  There  is  a  powerful  flow,  and, 
coming  from  the  height  it  does,  a  strong  pressure,  although 
it  is  claimed  that  at  several  places  the  pipe  is  nearly  clogged 
with  sand. 

The  Arequipa  &  Puno  railroad  is  famous  because  it  ran 
nearer  the  stars  than  any  other  in  the  world  until  the  Oroya 
road  was  recently  completed.  The  latter  crosses  the  Andes 
through  the  Gallera  tunnel  at  a  height  of  15,655  feet.  The 
Arequipa  road  crosses  atCrucero  Alto,  "the  High  Cross,"  at  a 
height  of  14,666  feet. 

For  the  first  ten  miles  out  of  Mollendo  the  track  runs  along 
the  sea  beach  and  then  enters  a  quedebra  or  ravine  in  the 
mountains  and  begins  its  weary  climb  up  the  mountain  side. 
It  does  not  pass  through  a  narrow  gorge  and  between  frown- 
ing precipices  like  the  Oroya  road,  but  the  track  lies  upon  a 
shelf  that  has  been  carved  out  of  the  rocks  at  a  regular  grade 
averaging  100  feet  to  the  mile.  It  passes  first  through  a 
region  of  rocks  and  sand,  upheaved  by  some  great  cataclysm 
in  ages  past,  where  the  surface  is  covered  with  a  fine  white 
sand  called  kaolin,  which  is  shipped  in  large  quantities  to 
Europe  for  the  manufacture  of  fine  china.  There  is  a  good 
deal  of  borax  in  sight  also,  and  in  one  of  the  side  valleys, 
about  fifteen  miles  from  the  track,  is  said  to  be  the  most 
valuable  deposit  in  all  the  world,  which  belongs  to  a  Califor- 


OVER   THE   MOUNTAINS   TO   BOLIVIA         221 

nia  syndicate.  Between  the  mountains  are  beautiful  valleys 
in  which  water  has  been  spread  over  the  soil  and  brings 
abundant  harvests  of  cotton  and  cane.  The  cotton  plant  has 
a  dark  tint,  the  cane  is  a  vivid  green.  The  cotton  plant  of 
Peru  is  permanent  and  grows  as  high  as  a  cherry  tree,  blos- 
soming perennially  and  ripening  about  three  months  after  the 
buds,  so  that  picking  is  going  on  the  year  around,  and  a, 
hacienda  does  not  have  to  be  replanted  more  than  once  in  a 
generation. 

As  the  track  rises  gravel  and  lava  cover  the  surface  and 
tufts  of  buffalo  grass  appear,  which  make  the  topography 
resemble  the  plateaus  of  Arizona  and  New  Mexico.  Cattle, 
burros  and  goats  are  seen  on  every  side  picking  up  a  precari- 
ous living,  and  here  and  there  is  a  prospect  hole  where  miners 
have  been  looking  for  copper  and  silver  without  much  encour- 
agement. It  is  a  curious  fact  that  in  all  the  excavation  and 
blasting  that  was  done  in  the  construction  of  this  road  not  a 
trace  of  mineral  was  disclosed.  But,  as  I  have  said,  there  are 
several  productive  mines  in  the  mountains  within  easy  dis- 
tance, from  which  ore  is  brought  out  in  bags  on  the  backs  of 
burros.  Then,  as  you  go  higher,  chaparral  and  cactus  appear, 
of  the  Spanish  bayonet  and  the  candelbra  variety,  which  has 
arms  like  a  candlestick. 

The  little  stations  are  well  built,  with  adobe  walls  and  roofs 
of  corrugated  iron,  and  are  surrounded  by  neat-looking  dwell- 
ings of  the  same  material  in  which  the  employes  of  the  com- 
pany are  housed,  and  mud  huts  from  which  issue  groups  of 
half -naked  children,  who  are  innocent  of  shame  and  the  sense 
of  propriety.  Women  come  to  the  cars  selling  fruits,  chica 
and  bunches  of  sugar  cane,  which  are  eagerly  bought  by  the 
native  passengers  in  the  second-class  cars,  and  even  that  class 
which  my  friend  De  Leon,  the  United  States  consul-general  at 
Guayaquil,  insists  upon  calling  "the  proud  patricians  of  Peru" 
do  not  hesitate  to  patronize  them  on  the  sly. 

At  some  of  the  stations  piles  of  freight  are  awaiting  ship- 
ment, and  droves  of  burros,  patient,  melancholy-looking  little 
fellows,  with  monstrous  heads  and  slender  legs,  gaze  indiffer- 
ently at  the  railway  train,  as  if  unconscious  of  its  competition. 


222    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

The  track  continues  to  wind  like  a  snake  in  and  out  of  the 
irregularities  of  the  mountain  side,  and  cuts  all  sorts  of  geo- 
metrical capers,  like  a  Canadian  skater.  There  are  double 
curves  and  serpentines  and  horseshoes,  and  at  places  you  can 
see  three  or  four  levels,  one  above  the  other,  on  the  same 
mountain.  The  first  station  after  leaving  the  seashore  lies  at 
an  elevation  of  i,ooo  feet,  the  second  at  1,830  feet,  the  third  at 
2,493  feet,  and  Cachendo,  the  lunch  station,  is  3,250  feet  above 
the  sea.  There  is  an  average  rise  of  800  feet  between  stations 
until  we  reach  Arequipa,  which  is  7,550  feet  above  tidewater. 
There  is  no  difficulty  engineering  along  the  lower  end  of  the 
line.  There  are  no  tunnels  and  only  one  bridge  the  entire 
distance,  but  the  heavy  construction  is  continuous,  the  road- 
way being  carved  out  of  the  rocks  with  shovels,  picks  and 
dynamite. 

The  train  creeps  along  very  slowly  at  the  rate  of  about  ten 
miles  an  hour,  an  engine  and  two  cars,  the  first  a  combination 
of  baggage  and  second-class,  the  other  a  well-upholstered  and 
neatly-kept  coach,  built  on  the  American  plan  at  the  shops  at 
Arequipa.  The  passenger  traffic  is  limited.  The  first-class 
passengers  go  through  to  Arequipa,  the  local  patrons  are 
mostly  second-class.  It  requires  seven  hours  to  make  the 
ninety-two  miles. 

At  an  altitude  of  about  3,000  feet  the  soil  improves,  and 
you  can  see  shrubbery  from  the  car  windows  and  a  few  modest 
but  aspiring  flowers.  At  Cachendo,  the  lunch  station,  the 
snow-clad  mountains  of  the  great  Cordillera  first  come  in  view. 
El  Misti  is  an  active  volcano,  19,200  feet  high,  with  a  hood  of 
snow  upon  its  crest,  and  its  almost  perfectly  proportioned  sides 
are  seamed  like  a  mold  of  blanc  mange.  On  the  right  of  El 
Misti  is  Pichu-Pichu,  which  rises  18,000  feet.  On  the  left  is 
Carachani,  20,000  feet  high,  and  way  beyond  is  Coropuno,  one 
of  the  highest  peaks  in  South  America,  which  measures  22,000 
feet. 

The  train  here  enters  a  desolate  region  called  the  pampas — 
a  plateau  between  two  ranges  of  the  Andes,  about  forty  miles 
across,  at  an  elevation  of  about  5,oqo  feet,  covered  with  vol- 
canic sand  and  ashes,  and  absolutely  lifeless,  with  not  a  living 


OVER  THE   MOUNTAINS  TO   BOLIVIA         223 

thing-  in  sight ;  not  even  a  cactus  or  a  sage  brush  has  the  cour- 
age to  grow  there.  Many  bowlders  and  much  lava,  scoria  and 
baked  clay  have  been  scattered  over  the  surface  by  volcanoes, 
and  you  are  reminded  of  the  Yuma  desert  on  the  Southern 
Pacific  railroad.  The  temperature  becomes  very  warm,  the 
air  is  dry  and  hot,  and  the  reflection  of  the  sun  upon  the  sand 
is  trying  to  the  eyes. 

At  frequent  intervals  along  the  journey  you  see  crosses 
that  have  been  erected  where  men  have  died,  and  there  is  a 
ghastly  shrine,  hung  with  ribs,  thigh  bones,  skulls  and  other 
melancholy  reminders  of  the  uncertainty  of  human  life  upon 
this  awful  desert.  Some  of  the  victims  died  of  disease  during 
the  construction  of  the  railway,  others  perished  of  thirst  or 
exhaustion  while  crossing  the  pampas.  All  of  them  were  once 
buried  in  the  sand,  but  the  wind  uncovered  their  bones,  which 
kindly  hands  have  collected  and  hung  about  the  emblem  of  the 
crucifixion. 

Upon  the  desolate  pampas  of  Peru  is  found  extraordinary 
phenomena  known  as  medanos  —  crescent-shaped  piles  of 
white  crystals,  called  silica,  rising  to  a  height  of  sometimes 
twelve  and  sometimes  twenty  feet  at  the  center  of  the  arc, 
and  molded  with  perfect  symmetry.  The  points  of  the  cres- 
cent are  always  of  equal  length,  and  always  point  to  the  north. 
The  medanos  move  continually,  making  an  average  distance 
of  about  ten  feet  a  year,  but  each  pile  keeps  its  own  sand,  and 
in  a  mysterious  manner  they  never  mix,  nor  do  they  increase 
in  numbers.  Veterans  who  have  lived  here  all  their  lives  and 
have  been  passing  over  the  desert  for  half  a  century  claim  that 
the  number  of  medanos  is  no  greater  than  twenty-five  or  thirty 
years  ago. 

At  Vitor,  thirty-six  miles  from  Arequipa,  the  track  enters 
the  mountains  again,  and  the  traveler  has  an  opportunity  of 
seeing  evidences  of  nature  in  her  most  terrible  mood.  The 
mountains  are  covered  with  monstrous  masses  of  broken  stone, 
and  are  rent  asunder  with  great  chasms,  which  show  what 
earthquakes  and  volcanoes  can  do  when  they  give  their  mind 
to  it.  Here  are  deposited  the  upheavals  of  unnumbered  cen- 
turies, and  the  depth  of  the  deposits  of  broken  stone,  ashes  and 


224   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

lava  are  unmeasured.  Near  the  base  of  the  mountain,  loo 
feet  above  the  bed  of  the  river  Chile,  you  see  outcroppings  of  a 
black  rock,  an  even  strip,  which  shows  where  the  bottom  is. 

The  valley  broadens  as  you  approach  Arequipa,  and  its 
fertility  [is  'shown  by  an  emerald  ribbon  that  illuminates  the 
gloomy  grandeur  of  the  scenery.  Irrigating  ditches  creep 
around  the  mountain  sides  and  empty  their  contents  over  the 
slope;  farmhouses  are  built  of  loose  bowlders  and  without 
mortar,  and  are  thatched  with  roofs  of  straw  in  the  shape  of 
pyramids,  over  which  a  coating  of  clay  has  been  placed  to  pro- 
tect it  from  the  rain  and  wind.  On  almost  every  farm  is  a  cir- 
cular corral,  built  of  bowlders,  with  a  stone  floor,  in  which  the 
wheat  is  trampled  out  of  the  straw  by  the  hoofs  of  animals, 
and  many  other  curious  and  interesting  objects  are  seen  on 
every  hand. 

The  snow-clad  peaks  are  bathed  in  pink  as  the  sun  droops 
behind  the  surrounding  mountains,  and  it  changes  to  purple 
haze  as  the  twilight  fades. 

Passenger  trains  leave  Arequipa  for  Puno  on  Thursdays 
and  Sundays  at  7  o'clock  in  the  morning,  consisting  of  an 
engine,  one  first-class  and  one  second-class  passenger  car  and 
a  box  car  for  mails,  baggage  and  express  matter.  Freight 
trains  run  every  day.  The  locomotives  and  the  first-class  cars 
are  on  the  American  plan.  The  second-class  cars  are  similar 
to  those  seen  in  Austria  and  Italy,  with  four  long  benches  run- 
ning lengthwise  opposite  each  other,  and  ventilated  by  lattice 
work  like  a  stock  car.  It  is  said  that  they  were  constructed  in 
this  way  to  allow  the  passengers  to  gossip  with  their  friends 
outside,  because  it  was  found  difficult  to  get  them  back  in 
again  if  they  were  once  allowed  to  alight  at  the  stations. 

The  track  climbs  around  the  base  of  the  volcano  El  Misti, 
rising  nearly  500  feet  during  the  first  forty-four  miles.  The 
mountains  are  bare,  and  seem  to  be  composed  of  alternate 
layers  of  rocks  and  baked  clay.  The  latter  looks  like  chalk, 
and  cuts  like  cheese.  It  was  very  convenient  and  useful  for 
grading  purposes,  and  on  the  mountain  sides  are  great  cavities, 
which  were  shoveled  out  for  this  purpose,  whose  walls  are  as 
regular  and  as  smooth  as  if  they  had  been  done  with  a  carving 


OVER  THE   MOUNTAINS   TO   BOLIVIA         225 

knife.  At  intervals  of  a  few  miles  are  lovely  valleys,  showing 
where  the  water  has  been  gathered  and  utilized  for  irrigation, 
for  the  soil  is  rich  and  produces  anything  that  man  may  plant 
in  a  most  prolific  manner.  Sugar  cane  and  wheat  grow  side 
by  side,  cotton  and  corn  intermingle  their  foliage  and  potatoes 
and  melons  and  ordinary  vegetables  and  fruits  grow  as  they  do 
in  California. 

Wheat  is  one  of  the  chief  crops,  although  the  supply  has 
never  yet  been  sufficient  for  home  consumption,  and  much 
flour  is  still  brought  in  from  Chile.  The  grain  is  cultivated  in 
the  most  primitive  manner,  as  it  is  in  Japan,  where  people 
have  no  idea  of  the  value  of  time.  The  ground  is  plowed  with 
a  crooked  stick,  hauled  by  a  team  of  oxen  or  mules.  One  man 
keeps  the  stick  in  the  ground — usually  the  trunk  of  a  tree 
whittled  off  to  a  point — while  the  other  howls  at  the  animals. 
The  seed  is  sown  by  hand,  and  then  the  soil  is  raked  over  with 
a  sort  of  harrow,  home-made  and  of  curious  pattern.  When 
the  crop  is  ripe  the  women  go  into  the  field  with  long,  straight 
knives,  like  the  machetes  used  in  Cuba,  cut  the  stalks  by  the 
handfuls,  lay  them  carefully  in  piles,  tie  them  with  strings  and 
carry  them  on  their  backs  to  the  headquarters  of  the  hacienda, 
where,  after  the  harvest  is  done,  they  separate  the  finest  wheat 
from  the  stalks  kernel  by  kernel  with  the  fingers,  while  sitting 
on  the  pavement  of  a  patio.  The  best  of  the  straw  is  then 
separated  from  the  remainder  for  manufacturing  purposes  and 
carefully  tied  up  into  bundles  as  big  as  one's  arm.  The 
remaining  straw  is  spread  on  the  floor  of  a  circular  corral 
called  a  cancha,  which  has  a  sort  of  windlass  in  the  center, 
with  a  long  pole  in  the  hub.  Animals  of  all  kinds  are  hitched 
to  this  arrangement — oxen,  mules,  horses  or  burros,  anything 
with  hoofs — and  they  are  driven  round  and  round  upon  the 
straw  until  the  grain  is  thoroughly  trampled  out  of  it.  Then 
the  straw  is  poked  up  into  piles  by  men  with  forked  sticks  and 
stacked  for  fodder,  for  thatching  houses  and  for  other  purposes. 

Barley,  which  is  another  of  the  staples  of  the  country,  is 
treated  in  the  same  way. 

According  to  tradition,  wheat  was  introduced  in  Peru  by 
a  curious  accident.     Inez  Munoz,  the  wife  of  Alcantara,  a  half- 


326   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE  OCEAN 

brother  of  Pizarro,  and  the  first  European  woman  who  landed 
in  this  country,  brought  with  her  a  bag  of  rice.  One  day 
shortly  after  her  arrival,  while  cleaning  some  of  the  rice  to 
make  a  pudding  for  her  brother-in-law,  the  marquis,  she  came 
across  a  few  grains  of  wheat,  which  she  carefully  laid  aside, 
and  afterward  planted  in  the  northwest  corner  of  the  main 
plaza  of  Lima,  just  in  front  of  where  the  city  hall  now  stands. 
They  yielded  abundantly,  and  the  next  year  the  little  crop  was 
distributed  among  the  settlers  for  seed.  This  was  in  1535,  and 
in  1539  the  production  was  so  extensive  that  the  first  flour  mill 
was  erected. 

In  1560  the  same  lady,  having  meantime  become  a  widow, 
introduced  the  first  olive  trees  into  Peru,  which  were  also 
planted  in  the  plaza  of  Lima.  All  of  them  died  except  two, 
one  of  which  was  stolen  by  a  Chileano  and  became  the  parent 
of  all  the  olive  trees  in  Chile,  while  from  the  other  sprung  all 
the  groves  in  Peru. 

The  soil  improves  with  the  elevation  because  it  is  moistened 
almost  daily  by  the  clouds  that  enwrap  the  mountains,  and  as 
we  reach  Canaguas,  which  is  13,380  feet  above  the  sea,  the 
mountain  sides  are  covered  with  gray  bunch  grass,  which 
makes  excellent  grazing.  A  few  wild  flowers  are  seen  along 
the  sides  of  the  track,  and  little  streams  come  rippling  down 
from  the  melting  snows  in  a  most  cheerful  and  audacious  man- 
ner, but  are  soon  swallowed  up  in  the  thirsty  sands.  These 
streams  contain  a  delicious  fish  that  looks  like  a  smelt  and  is 
called  a  pejerray.  Herds  of  fine  cattle,  large-boned  animals 
with  spreading  horns,  are  seen  in  every  direction,  and  vast 
droves  of  sheep,  including  many  alpaca  and  vicuna,  both  being 
limited  in  their  habitat  to  Bolivia,  southern  Peru  and  some 
parts  of  Chile.  The  alpacas  look  like  dwarfed  llamas,  the 
vicunas  resemble  our  deer.  The  sheep  and  cattle  are  herded 
by  women,  who  carry  their  knitting  and  spinning  spindles  with 
them  and  sit  down  among  the  rocks  as  contentedly  as  if  it  were 
a  most  comfortable  fireside.  At  occasional  intervals  a  rough 
shelter  is  built,  in  which  they  can  seek  protection  in  case  it 
storms.  It  is  usually  a  roofless  well  of  stones  six  or  eight  feet 
in  diameter  and  five  or  six  feet  high.     The  wind  often  blows 


OVER  THE   MOUNTAINS   TO   BOLIVIA         227 

with  great  violence  through  the  mountain  gorges  and  across 
the  plateaus,  and  it  was  only  the  other  day  that  a  cyclone  tore 
down  a  substantial  brick  building  that  was  used  as  a  station 
house  by  the  railway  company.  Large  corrals  are  provided 
for  herding  the  sheep  and  vicuna,  but  the  cattle  are  allowed  to 
take  care  of  themselves  under  all  circumstances. 

In  the  high  plateaus  are  plenty  of  springs,  and  water  can 
be  obtained  at  an  elevation  of  14,000  and  even  15,000  feet  by 
driving  wells  into  the  sand.  There  is  supposed  to  be  an 
artesian  basin  fed  from  Lake  Titicaca  and  its  twin,  Popo,  which 
has  no  outlet  except  underground,  and  it  is  a  mystery  where 
all  the  water  goes  to.  There  are  many  small  lakes  in  the  hol- 
lows at  an  elevation  similar  to  that  of  Titicaca  which  have 
neither  [inlet  nor  outlet,  but  catch  the  surface  drainage  when 
the  rain  or  snow  falls.  The  snow  line  is  about  16,000  feet. 
The  ice  line  begins  at  Canaguas,  13,380  feet,  and  a  film  forms 
over  standing  water  every  night.  There  is  no  timber  on  any 
of  these  mountains,  and  the  only  fuel  is  llama  dung  and  the 
yareta,  a  sort  of  peat  which  looks  like  cauliflower  or  pumice 
stone,  and  grows  in  the  swampy  highlands,  where  it  is  cut  out 
of  the  soil  about  a  foot  thick.  This  remarkable  plant  seems  to 
grow  downward,  for  the  top  is  always  almost  even  with  the 
surface  of  the  soil,  and  looks  like  green  mold.  The  peons  cut 
it  out,  spread  it  on  the  ground  to  dry  in  the  sun  and  wind,  and 
then  bring  it  into  the  settlements  for  fuel.     It  bums  like  peat. 

At  an  elevation  of  13,413  feet  the  railway  passes  through 
immense  deposits  of  chalk,  with  occasional  outcroppings  of 
lava.  This  is  followed  by  a  number  of  mountains  that  seemed 
to  be  composed  entirely  of  baked  clay,  showing  evidences  of 
intense  internal  heat  and  tremendous  upheavals  from  the 
neighboring  volcanoes.  There  is  another  curious  phenomenon 
which  nobody  seems  to  be  able  to  explain.  One  hill  will  be 
composed  of  chalk  or  baked  clay,  without  the  sign  of  a  stone, 
while  the  next  hill  will  be  composed  of  stones  entirely,  piled 
up  in  enormous  masses  with  such  confusion  as  to  suggest  that 
some  Titan  had  lifted  a  mountain  and  put  it  back  upside  down. 
It  is  a  field  of  marvels  for  the  geologist.  At  one  place  the 
track  encircles  an  ancient  crater  about  twelve  miles  wide  which 


228   BETWEEN  THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

is  filled  with  ashes  and  lava  to  an  unknown  depth.  While 
Misti  is  semi-active  and  vapor  continually  escapes  from  its 
crater,  the  volcano  of  Ubinus,  which  is  over  16,000  feet  in 
height,  is  continually  active,  although  its  eruptions  are  not 
severe  and  no  damage  has  ever  come  from  them. 

Within  sight  of  the  car  windows,  besides  these  two  mon- 
sters, we  have  frequent  views  of  Coropuna,  one  of  the  highest 
peaks  in  America,  which  measures  22,800  feet,  Charchani, 
19,400  feet,  and  Pichu,  which  is  17,800  feet 

Sumbay  is  the  station  for  the  famous  Cailoma  silver  mines, 
owned  and  operated  by  an  English  company,  which  sends  out 
large  quantities  of  high-grade  ore  in  bags  on  the  backs  of 
llamas.  It  pays  an  average  of  $800  to  the  ton,  and  is  shipped 
by  sea  to  Liverpool  at  a  cost  of  55  shillings  a  ton  to  the  miners. 
The  railway  company  regulates  its  rates  of  transportation 
according  to  the  value  of  the  ore.  It  carries  copper  cheaper 
than  silver,  and  the  rate  on  bullion  is  a  percentage  of  its  value. 
Nearly  all  the  gold  goes  to  Lima  to  be  coined  in  the  mints. 

We  cross  the  grand  divide  at  Alto  Crucero  (the  High  Cross), 
a  collection  of  adobe  huts  and  a  well-built  station,  upon  the 
front  of  which  is  an  inscription  to  inform  the  traveler  that  it  is 
the  highest  point  upon  the  railway,  and  14,666  feet  above  the 
sea.  There  are  mining  settlements  in  Peru  at  a  greater  eleva- 
tion, but  for  many  years  this  was  the  highest  point  in  the  world 
at  which  steam  was  used  for  motive  power.  The  inhabitants 
are  mostly  railway  men,  it  being  the  end  of  the  division,  and 
the  families  of  the  shepherds,  who  watch  their  flocks  upon  the 
pampas  that  surround  it.  It  is  not  so  bleak  and  dreary  as 
the  deserts  3,000  or  4,000  feet  below;  the  surface  of  the  soil 
has  a  cheerful  appearance  that  comes  from  the  clumps  of  grass 
that  are  a  good  way  apart  when  you  inspect  them  individually, 
but  collectively  make  quite  an  attractive  coverlet  for  the  earth 
of  a  grayish  g^reen. 

We  felt  no  sirroche,  the  disease  which  usually  attacks  peo- 
ple who  rise  rapidly  from  a  lower  to  a  higher  altitude,  because 
we  had  been  forewarned  and  kept  as  quiet  as  possible  in  the 
car  which  Mr.  McCord,  the  manager  of  the  railway,  had  pro- 
vided for  our  accommodation.     Sirroche  is  no  more  dangerous 


OVER   THE   MOUNTAINS   TO   BOLIVIA         229 

than  seasickness,  but  quite  as  uncomfortable.  Its  symptoms 
are  nausea,  severe  pains  in  the  head  and  bleeding  at  the  nose 
and  ears.  We  could  perceive  the  pressure  of  the  blood  in  the 
head,  because  of  the  rare  atmosphere,  but  felt  no  other  evil 
effects. 

At  Alto  Crucero  water  freezes  every  night  of  the  year,  and 
the  thermometer  frequently  falls  to  6,  8  and  10  degrees  below- 
zero.  There  are  no  facilities  for  artificial  heat — not  even  a 
fireplace — and  people  keep  themselves  warm  by  putting  on 
ponchos  and  other  extra  wraps.  Mr.  Grundy,  who  has  charge 
of  the  smelter  at  Mara  villas,  says  that  this  winter  the  thermom- 
eter has  frequently  fallen  to  8  degrees  below  zero  in  the  sit- 
ting-room of  his  residence,  but  the  family  have  felt  no 
discomfort  from  the  lack  of  stoves  and  furnaces,  and  have  sat 
around  the  evening  lamp  reading  and  chatting  just  as  they  are 
accustomed  to  do  at  an  ordinary  temperature. 

At  noonday  the  sun  is  intensely  hot,  because  of  the  eleva- 
tion and  the  rarity  of  the  atmosphere,  and  blisters  the  flesh  of 
those  who  are  not  accustomed  to  it.  There  is  a  difference  of 
20  and  sometimes  30  degrees  in  the  temperature  of  the  shade 
and  the  sunshine.  Water  will  freeze  in  the  shade  while 
twenty  feet  away  men  may  be  working  in  their  shirt 
sleeves. 

The  natives  seem  to  be  entirely  inured  to  cold,  and  go 
about  barefooted  and  barelegged  over  the  ice  and  the  stones 
indifferently,  without  regard  to  the  temperature;  but  they 
have  a  way  of  heaping  the  blankets  on  their  heads  and  wrap- 
ping up  their  faces  to  keep  the  pure  air  out  of  their  throats  and 
nostrils.  The  women  who  herd  the  flocks  are  often  out  on  the 
mountains  for  weeks  at  a  time  without  shelter  or  anything  to 
eat  except  parched  corn,  strips  of  dried  meat  and  coca  leaves, 
which  are  the  most  powerful  of  nerve  stimulants. 

From  Crucero  Alto,  the  highest  railway  town  in  the  world, 
the  track  drops  into  the  Lagunillas,  or  lake  region  of  the  Cor- 
dilleras, where,  14,250  feet  above  the  sea,  is  a  group  of  large 
lakes  of  very  cold,  pure  water  without  inlet  or  outlet.  They 
receive  the  drainage  of  the  surrounding  hills  and  conceal  it 
somewhere,  but  there  is  no  visible  means  of  its  escape.     A 


230    BETWEEN   THE  ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

fringe  of  ice  forms  around  the  edges  of  the  lakes  every  night 
the  year  round.  They  contain  an  excellent  variety  of  fish 
called  the  pejerray,  which  is  caught  near  the  shore  and  sold  at 
Puno  and  in  other  neighboring  towns.  The  two  largest  lakes, 
Saracocha  and  Cachipascana,  with  several  smaller  ones  in  the 
same  neighborhood,  are  owned  by  the  family  of  Mr.  Romana, 
president  of  Peru.  He  owns  immense  tracts  of  land  in  this 
locality,  with  thousands  of  sheep,  cattle,  llamas,  alpacas  and 
vicunas,  which  are  herded  upon  it. 

A  curious  phenomenon  about  the  lakes  is  that  they  keep  at 
the  same  level  all  the  time,  regardless  of  the  dry  and  rainy 
seasons.  No  amount  of  rain  will  make  any  difference  with 
their  depth,  which,  however,  in  the  center  is  unknown.  And 
this  adds  to  the  awe  and  mystery  with  which  they  are  regarded 
by  the  Indians.  There  are  no  boats  upon  the  lakes  except 
a  few  small  balsas,  or  rafts,  made  of  bundles  of  straw,  which 
keep  very  close  to  the  shore,  for  fear  of  being  drawn  into 
whirlpools  that  are  said  to  exist  in  the  center.  There  is  some 
foundation  for  this  fear,  for  only  two  or  three  years  ago  a  balsa 
containing  five  men  disappeared  in  the  darkness,  and  was 
never  heard  of  again.  Of  course,  it  may  have  tipped  over  and 
its  occupants  have  been  paralyzed  by  the  cold  water  in  an 
ordinary  way,  but  their  bodies  were  never  discovered,  nor  did 
the  balsa  ever  float  to  shore.  Therefore  the  people  think  the 
whole  party  was  lured  into  a  maelstrom  and  swallowed  up  by 
the  mysterious  waters. 

The  whirlpool  near  the  center  of  Lake  Popo,  which  receives 
the  waters  of  Lake  Titicaca,  is  well  known,  and  hundreds  of 
men  have  lost  their  lives  by  venturing  too  near  it.  Boats  that 
are  drawn  into  the  current  are  whirled  swiftly  around  a  few 
times,  and  then  disappear.  For  the  protection  of  navigators 
the  government  of  Bolivia  has  anchored  a  lot  of  buoys  in  Lake 
Popo,  and  boatmen  who  observe  them  are  in  no  danger. 
There  is  supposed  to  be  an  underground  outflow  from  all  of 
these  lakes.  It  is  claimed  that  articles  which  have  been 
thrown  into  their  waters  have  afterward  been  picked  up  on  the 
seacoast  near  Arica,  and  careful  observers  say  that  on  the 
beach  in  that  locality  are  frequently  found  cornstalks,  reeds 


OVER  THE   MOUNTAINS   TO   BOLIVIA.       231 

and  other  debris  which  do  not  grow  on  the  coast,  but  are 
found  in  great  abundance  among  the  interior  lakes. 

The  station  house  at  Lagunillas,  which  was  built  of  brick 
imported  from  the  United  States,  was  carried  away  by  a 
cyclone  in  1899.  It  was  the  first  storm  of  that  kind  ever 
known  in  the  Puna,  and  brought  terror  to  the  hearts  of  the 
natives,  although  no  other  destruction  was  noted. 

After  crossing  the  grand  divide  at  Crucero  Alto  you  enter 
the  great  basin  that  lies  between  the  two  ranges  of  the  Andes 
and  is  known  to  the  natives  as  the  Puna.  It  stretches  to  a 
distance  of  about  700  miles  in  length  and  varies  from  twenty 
to  300  miles  in  width.  Before  the  time  of  the  conquest  it  was 
the  most  populous  and  productive  part  of  Peru,  and  the  center 
of  the  great  Inca  empire.  On  either  side  this  mighty  table- 
land is  supported  by  the  mighty  buttresses  of  the  Andes  and 
the  Cordilleras,  and  ranges  of  snow-covered  peaks  can  be  seen 
on  to  the  east  and  to  the  west  from  every  eminence.  At  sev- 
eral points  the  two  great  ranges  come  together  in  a  knot. 
Such  is  the  case  at  the  pass  of  La  Raya,  which  is  the  favorite 
trail  for  crossing  over  to  the  eastern  slope  of  the  continent,  and 
the  gorge  of  the  Vilcanota,  a  little  stream  which  is  the  true 
source  of  the  Amazon.  Around  the  chains  of  snow-clad  peaks 
is  a  vast  chaos  of  mountains,  tangled  into  ranges  and  cross 
ranges,  bleak,  barren  and  lifeless,  which,  like  the  pyramids  of 
Egypt,  have  looked  down  upon  centuries  of  civilization,  and 
have  seen  the  solution  of  problems  which  puzzle  the  minds  of 
modern  scientists.  Between  these  mountains,  wherever  water 
can  be  found,  are  rich,  productive  valleys,  called  bolsones,  or 
pockets.  They  are  only  specks  on  the  map  in  comparison  with 
the  area  of  the  desert,  but  yielded  sustenance  for  an  empire 
for  many  centuries,  and  there  is  every  evidence  that  during 
the  Incarial  period  they  were  taxed  to  their  utmost. 

In  no  part  of  the  world  does  nature  assume  more  imposing 
forms  nor  offer  more  striking  contrasts.  The  deserts  and  the 
mountains  are  as  bare  and  repulsive  as  the  Sahara,  but  the 
valleys  are  as  rich  and  luxuriant  and  productive  as  those  of 
Italy.  It  is  no  figure  of  speech  to  say  that  here  eternal  sum- 
mer sits  side  by  side  with  everlasting  winter,  and  that  the  per- 


232    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES  AND  THE   OCEAN 

fumes  of  flowers  and  fruits  are  borne  across  repulsive  wastes 
of  sand  and  rock.  It  was  here  under  these  conditions  and  in 
such  a  terrible  struggle  for  existence  that  the  Incas  maintained 
a  government,  the  first  known  to  the  world  in  which  the  equal 
rights  of  every  human  being  Vv^ere  recognized,  a  community 
that  furnished  an  ideal  for  modern  socialism,  and  that  wor- 
shiped a  god  whose  instincts  and  attributes  were  almost 
parallel  with  those  of  the  Jehovah  of  the  Mosaic  period.  It 
was  natural  that  men  who  shivered  in  the  snowy  mountains 
should  recognize  in  the  sun  the  source  of  heat  and  light,  the 
greatest  blessings  they  enjoyed,  and  hence  it  was  given  the 
chief  place  in  their  pantheon. 

The  pastures  improve  as  the  railroad  descends  from  the 
grand  continental  divide  into  the  Puna,  the  air  becomes 
moister,  the  soil  is  deeper,  the  rocks  are  not  so  numerous  and 
the  topography  of  the  country  resembles  the  great  plateau  of 
Colorado  and  Wyoming.  The  river  Maravillas,  which  flows 
rapidly  from  springs  in  the  mountains  through  this  great  plain, 
and  during  the  rainy  season  carries  a  considerable  body  of 
water,  is  bordered  with  haciendas  and  villages  of  adobe  huts, 
and  irrigates  a  large  area.  At  an  elevation  of  12,000  feet  the 
cultivation  of  the  soil  can  be  made  profitable,  wheat,  corn, 
barley  and  potatoes  being  the  chief  staples.  The  nights  are 
cold,  but  the  days  are  very  hot  all  the  year  around,  and  are 
sufiicient  to  ripen  the  more  hardy  vegetables  like  cabbages  and 
turnips.  The  corn  is  peculiar,  the  ears  being  short  and  thick, 
not  more  than  three  inches  in  length.  Two  crops  are  raised 
every  year,  and  they  constitute  the  staple  food  of  the  Indian 
population,  as  well  as  the  basis  of  the  national  drink  called 
chicha,  which  was  offered  in  a  golden  goblet  to  Pizarro  in  the 
bay  of  Tumbez  when  he  first  entered  the  Peruvian  waters. 
The  chroniclers  relate  that  the  great  chieftain  drank  the  bev- 
erage, smacked  his  lips,  saying,  "Es  muybueno"  (It  is  very 
good),  casually  put  the  golden  goblet  into  his  saddlebag  and 
rode  on  without  further  ceremony. 

Chicha  tastes  like  a  mixture  of  yeast  and  sour  milk,  and 
strangers  are  not  fond  of  it,  but  vast  quantities  are  consumed 
by  the  natives.     Perhaps  the  stories  that  are  told  of  the  meth- 


OVER   THE   MOUNTAINS   TO   BOLIVIA         233 

ods  of  its  manufacture  have  some  influence  upon  the  appetite 
of  foreigners.  The  corn  is  first  immersed  in  lye,  which  eats 
off  the  crust  or  hull.  It  is  then  crushed  in  a  great  earthen  jar 
with  a  pestle,  and  warm  water  is  poured  upon  it.  It  swells 
and  ferments.  In  a  few  days,  being  subjected  to  the  extreme 
changes  of  temperature,  a  liquid  containing  about  thirty  parts 
of  alcohol  is  produced.  A  novel  method  of  promoting  fermen- 
tation is  to  add  to  the  mixture  small  quantities  of  corn  that" 
have  been  masticated  by  old  women  of  the  family  who  have 
not  outlived  their  teeth  and  have  nothing  else  to  do.  People 
who  visit  the  Indian  villages  tell  of  seeing  long  rows  of  ancient 
dames  sitting  with  their  backs  against  the  wall  on  the  sunny 
side  of  the  house,  chewing  away  with  great  industry  and 
patience.  As  fast  as  a  mouthful  of  corn  has  been  reduced  to 
the  proper  consistency  it  is  placed  in  a  little  earthen  dish  and 
a  new  mouthful  fresh  from  the  cobs  is  subjected  to  the  same 
process.  I  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain  the  chemical  form- 
ula, but  it  is  asserted  that  the  saliva  of  old  women  applied  to 
the  corn  gives  the  chicha  a  flavor  which  it  cannot  otherwise 
obtain,  and  that  adds  greatly  to  its  popularity. 

This  railway  is  said  to  be  the  best  in  South  America.  It 
has  a  fine  track,  and  the  rails  are  quite  as  smooth  as  any  we 
find  in  the  States.  The  rolling  stock,  all  manufactured  at  the 
shops  in  Arequipa,  is  in  excellent  condition,  the  station  houses 
are  neat  and  attractive,  and  the  eating  houses  furnish  meals 
that  are  abundant  in  quantity  and  well  served.  The  patronage 
is  not  large.  The  population  is  scanty  and  is  chiefly  composed 
of  Indians  who  have  no  occasion  to  travel.  Most  of  the  freight 
outward  is  furnished  by  the  mines,  and  consists  of  silver,  cop- 
per and  gold  ores.  A  considerable  quantity  of  wool  is 
exported,  also,  and  a  few  hides.  The  inward  freight  is  mer- 
chandise for  Bolivia  and  Cuzco,  and  supplies  for  the  mines. 
The  greater  part  of  it  appears  to  have  come  from  Germany, 
and  it  is  remarkable  how  rapidly  Germans  are  absorbing  the 
commerce  of  this  country.  At  the  present  rate  they  will  very 
soon  have  a  monopoly  of  the  retail  trade. 

On  the  mountain  slopes  one  sees  many  prospect  holes  and 
evidences  of  a  few  profitable  mines,  but  the  largest  deposits, 


234   BETWEEN   THE  ANDES  AND   THE  OCEAN 

at  least  those  which  pay  the  best,  are  on  the  eastern  slope  of 
the  Cordilleras.  According  to  the  stories  you  hear,  nature  has 
concealed  her  richest  treasures  in  the  most  inaccessible  places. 
Near  the  town  of  Maravillas  is  a  mountain  of  metal  named 
Berenguela,  similar  to  the  iron  mountain  at  Durango,  from 
which  an  English  company  is  now  taking  copper  ore  that  yields 
from  6  to  25  per  cent,  manganese  that  is  12  percent  pure,  iron 
that  pays  10  per  cent  and  silver  carbonates  that  pay  from  $85  to 
$100  a  ton.  Near  by  is  another  mountain  called  Sotuca, 
belonging  to  the  same  company,  which  has  a  curious  deposit 
of  iron  at  its  very  top,  and  much  of  the  ore  is  65  per  cent  pure. 
There  are  fine  cattle  on  all  the  ranges,  much  better-looking 
than  those  in  the  lower  latitudes,  and  as  the  train  approaches 
the  center  of  the  basin  the  population  seems  to  increase,  until 
we  come  to  the  town  of  Juliaca,  where  the  railroad  divides, 
one  branch  running  due  north  along  the  center  of  the  plateau 
to  the  ancient  town  of  Cuzco,  the  capital  of  the  Inca  empire, 
and  the  other  to  the  city  of  Puno,  which  lies  upon  the  western 
shores  of  Lake  Titicaca,  where  a  line  of  steamers  furnishes 
transportation  to  Bolivia. 


XVI 
THE  QUAINT  OLD  CITY  OF  AREQUIPA 

Arequipa  is  one  of  the  quaintest  and  queerest  old  towns  that 
ever  was,  just  about  two  centuries  behind  the  times  and  as 
conservative  as  it  is  antiquated.  It  is  a  subject  of  boasting 
that  Arequipa  is  the  most  conservative  city  in  South  America, 
and  that  means  in  the  world.  There  are  few  places  even  in 
Spain  so  old-fashioned,  so  much  out  of  date. 

Arequipa  has  been  famous  for  several  things.  First, 
because  the  people  are  so  devout  in  their  religious  observances. 

Second,  Arequipa  is  famous  for  the  purity  of  its  atmos- 
phere. The  air  is  clearer  and  the  sky  is  bluer  here  than  any- 
where else,  they  declare.  Being  entirely  surrounded  by 
deserts,  every  breeze  that  reaches  Arequipa  is  sapped  of  its 
moisture.  Nothing  putrefies ;  decay  is  arrested  in  animate  as 
well  as  inanimate  life,  so  that  everything  dead  dries  up  and 
blows  away.  Because  of  its  pure  air  Arequipa  was  selected 
as  the  location  of  the  Harvard  observatory  in  South  America, 
from  which  Professor  Bailey  and  a  staff  of  assistants  are  now 
making  a  map  of  the  stars  and  the  constellations  of  the  south- 
ern hemisphere. 

Arequipa  has  been  celebrated,  too,  for  several  centuries  as 
a  seat  of  learning  and  a  center  of  literary  life.  It  has  pro- 
duced many  famous  scholars  and  statesmen,  and,  although  its 
university  is  not  so  much  sought  by  students  as  it  used  to  be, 
many  young  men  are  still  sent  here  from  all  parts  of  Peru  to 
be  educated. 

Another  source  of  satisfaction  as  well  as  fame  is  that  the 
old  Spanish  families  have  kept  their  blood  purer  there  than 
elsewhere,  and  the  leading  citizens  of  Arequipa  can  trace  their 
pedigrees  back  further,  it  is  claimed,  than  those  of  any  other 
part  of  Peru,  or  South  America  for  that  matter.     Therefore 

235 


236    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

they  are  proud — very  proud  and  exclusive — a  little  better  than 
the  rest  of  mankind.  But  their  pure  air  and  pure  blood  is 
about  all  they  have  to  brag  of,  for  in  the  preservation  of  their 
dignity  and  the  contemplation  of  their  virtues,  they  have  had 
little  time  to  devote  to  other  pursuits,  and  poverty  prevails  to 
a  most  painful  degree  among  some  of  the  oldest  and  most 
aristocratic  families.  The  women  are  beautiful,  the  men  are 
reserved  and  austere;  progress  and  modem  ideas  are  looked 
upon  as  an  evidence  of  vulgarity,  and  the  fact  that  Arequipa 
is  so  slow  and  old-fashioned  is  a  matter  of  congratulation 
rather  than  regret. 

The  city  has  a  background  that  is  of  itself  remarkable. 
Three  massive  mountains,  always  covered  with  snow,  lie 
between  it  and  the  sea.  On  the  right  is  Pinchu-Pinchu,  a 
long  sierra  with  deep  crevasses  that  are  always  filled  with 
snow  and  glaciers.  On  the  left  is  Chachani,  of  similar  char- 
acter and  topography,  while  in  the  center  is  El  Misti,  one  of 
%he  most  stately  and  beautiful  mountains  in  the  world,  distin- 
guished for  its  symmetry.  They  all  reach  an  altitude  of  20,000 
feet  approximately,  and  very  few  cities  enjoy  so  beautiful  a 
landscape. 

By  the  side  of  El  Misti  is  a  miniature  of  the  grander  peak, 
known  as  Misti  Chico  (Little  Misti),  having  the  same  shape 
and  a  height  of  about  8,000  feet.  El  Misti  was  formerly  a 
source  of  apprehension  because  it  is  an  active  volcano  with  sul- 
phurous vapors  constantly  issuing  from  the  crater,  but  Misti 
Chico,  the  little  one,  is  all  right. 

In  1868  Arequipa  was  almost  entirely  destroyed  by  an 
earthquake.  Some  5,000  people  were  killed  and  more  than 
half  the  houses  were  destroyed.  The  seal  of  the  city  of  Are- 
quipa bears  a  representation  of  the  volcano,  with  smoke  rising 
from  its  peak,  and  the  natives  of  the  place  call  themselves  the 
sons  and  daughters  of  El  Misti. 

Notwithstanding  the  purity  of  the  atmosphere  Arequipa  is 
an  unhealthy  place,  because  of  the  unspeakable  filth  in  the 
streets  and  the  clouds  of  dust,  full  of  all  sorts  of  disease  germs, 
constantly  arising  from  them.  Nature  alone  protects  the  peo- 
ple from  a  destructive  epidemic.     Through  every  street  runs 


THE   QUAINT   OLD   CITY   OF  AREQUIPA      237 

a  little  stream  of  water,  or  an  acequia,  as  it  is  called,  into 
which  all  garbage  and  offal  of  the  houses  is  thrown.  The 
odors  are  very  offensive  to  strangers,  although  the  inhabitants 
appear  to  have  become  accustomed  to  them.  The  filth  that 
does  not  reach  these  surface  sewers  is  left  lying  upon  the 
cobblestone  pavement  to  be  devoured  by  wolfish-looking  dogs. 
There  are  no  buzzards  there  at  present.  They  were  poisoned 
last  winter  from  eating  the  flesh  of  dogs  that  had  been  killed 
by  order  of  the  municipal  authorities.  In  nearly  all  the  South 
American  cities  large  flocks  of  buzzards  are  found  serving  as 
boards  of  health,  and  they  do  their  work  efficiently.  It  has 
now  become  necessary  for  Arequipa  to  replace  those  which 
were  destroyed,  and  it  is  a  matter  of  serious  discussion  how  it 
shall  be  done. 

The  residences  of  this  Rome  and  Athens  of  the  South 
American  continent  are  of  the  most  substantial  but  primitive 
character.  In  other  parts  of  Peru  the  danger  from  earthquakes 
is  avoided  by  using  elastic  bamboo  splints  for  walls  and  parti- 
tions, but  the  altitude  and  climate  of  Arequipa  require  greater 
protection  for  its  inhabitants.  Therefore  the  houses  are  made 
only  one  story  in  height  and  as  substantial  as  possible,  it  being 
asserted  that  one-third  of  the  area  of  the  city  is  covered  by  the 
foundation  and  partition  walls  of  its  houses,  many  of  them 
being  six,  eight  and  nine  feet  thick,  so,  when  it  becomes  nec- 
essary to  cut  a  window  or  a  door,  it  is  as  much  labor  as  boring 
a  tunnel.  The  walls  of  the  churches  are  sustained  by  enor- 
mous buttresses  of  stone  and  adobe.  On  the  side  of  El  Misti 
are  several  valuable  quarries,  from  which  a  soft,  light  and 
porous  stone  is  taken  for  building  purposes.  The  cathedral, 
which  is  a  stately  and  beautiful  example  of  the  architectural 
art,  is  built  of  that  material.  Its  pillars  and  towers,  which 
were  destroyed  by  the  earthquake  of  1868,  have  recently  been 
restored  and  are  models  of  symmetry. 

The  houses  are  dark,  gloomy  and  comfortless.  Their  enor- 
mous walls  surround  patios  in  the  Spanish  style,  from  which 
all  the  rooms  are  reached  and  lighted.  Most  of  them  have  no 
windows,  and  get  all  their  light  and  ventilation  through  the 
doors. 


238   BETWEEN  THE  ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

There  is  no  artificial  heat,  because  the  people  think  it  is 
nnhealthful,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  when  the  sun  goes 
down  the  atmosphere  is  usually  cold.  In  June,  for  example, 
the  variation  of  the  thermometer  from  7  o'clock  in  the  morning 
to  2  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  was  from  $6  to  72  degrees  Fahr- 
enheit. In  August  the  average  temperature  at  7  o'clock  in 
the  morning  was  35.6.  At  2  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  it  was 
71.4,  and  these  extraordinary  figures  do  not  represent 
extremes,  for  the  contrast  of  the  noonday  heat  with  the  tem- 
perature after  midnight  is  much  greater  than  at  7  o'clock, 
when  the  sun  has  had  a  full  hour  to  warm  the  atmosphere. 
The  dijfference  of  temperature  between  the  sunny  and  the 
shady  side  of  the  street  is  often  as  great  as  ten  degrees. 

These  extremes  naturally  have  a  serious  effect  upon  the 
human  system,  and  particularly  upon  the  health  of  children, 
especially  when  no  attempt  is  made  to  obviate  or  modify  them 
by  artificial  means.  There  is  not  a  stove  in  Arequipa  except 
at  the  Harvard  University  observatory.  There  is  one  fireplace 
in  the  house  of  a  foreigner,  in  which  he  burns  the  knots  of 
scrub  pines  brought  down  from  the  mountains,  but  in  all  the 
other  houses  people  put  on  overcoats  and  wrap  themselves  in 
blankets  and  try  to  keep  warm  that  way. 

Because  of  the  pure  atmosphere  and  arid  climate,  the 
absence  of  clouds  and  the  high  elevation,  the  city  of  Arequipa 
was  selected  as  the  site  of  the  astronomical  and  meteorological 
observatories  of  Harvard  University,  for  which  funds  were 
provided  by  a  bequest  from  the  late  Uriah  A.  Boyden.  They 
are  under  the  charge  of  Prof.  Solon  I.  Bailey,  who  is  assisted 
by  Prof.  Winslow  Upton,  Dr.  DeLisle  Stewart,  Mr.  W.  B. 
Clymer,  and  others  from  the  home  observatory  at  Cambridge. 
These  gentlemen  at  the  observatory  in  Arequipa  are  engaged 
in  making  a  map  of  the  heavens  of  the  southern  hemisphere, 
the  elevation  and  the  purity  of  the  atmosphere  enabling  them 
to  reach  many  stars  that  are  not  visible  in  other  localities, 
while  meteorological  records  of  great  scientific  usefulness, 
made  by  automatic  instruments  on  the  top  of  the  volcano 
Misti,  are  being  accumulated. 

'*Our  first  meterological  station  was  established  by  Prof. 


THE   QUAINT   OLD   CITY  OF  AREQUIPA      239 

William  H.  Pickering  in  1892,"  said  Professor  Bailey,  ''at  an 
elevation  of  16,650  feet  on  the  mountain  Charchani,  but  the 
exposure  of  the  instruments  was  not  favorable,  and  in  1893  we 
succeeded  in  establishing  a  new  station  on  the  summit  of  El 
Misti,  which  is  3,500  feet  higher  than  the  one  on  Mont  Blanc, 
and  therefore  the  highest  in  the  world.  The  instruments  now 
in  use  on  the  summit  are  dry  and  wet  bulb  thermometers,  rain 
gauges,  a  Richard  barograph,  a  thermograph,  a  hydrograph 
and  a  meteorograph  constructed  by  Fergesson  of  the  Blue  Hill 
observatory  especially  for  this  station,  and  designed  to  record 
temperature,  pressure,  humidity  and  the  direction  and  velocity 
of  the  wind,  and  to  run  three  months  without  rewinding. 
When  the  station  was  first  established  it  was  regularly  visited 
by  observers  once  in  ten  days.  Since  then  about  once  a 
month.  On  these  visits  the  clocks  of  the  self-recording  instru- 
ments are  rewound,  the  record  sheets  changed  and  the  read- 
ings made.  The  trip  to  the  summit  is  by  no  means  easy,  but 
we  have  made  a  good  road,  and  it  can  now  be  accomplished  in 
two  days,  and  entirely  on  muleback.  The  night  is  spent  in  a 
hut  at  the  base  of  the  peak  at  an  altitude  of  15,700  feet,  where 
we  have  what  is  called  the  Mont  Blanc  station,  because  its 
altitude  and  the  summit  of  Mont  Blanc  are  almost  the  same. 

"The  volcano  Misti,"  continued  Professor  Bailey,  "forms 
the  center,  and  from  its  symmetry,  height  and  nearness,  the 
most  imposing  figure  in  the  great  group  of  mountains  that  fill 
more  than  a  third  of  the  horizon  of  Arequipa.  It  stands 
isolated  in  a  great  stretch  of  barren  pampa.  The  plaza  of  the 
city  has  an  elevation  of  about  7,600  feet,  but  the  surrounding 
plain  is  much  higher,  and  for  convenience  we  estimate  that  the 
Misti,  as  a  separate  and  distinct  mountain,  rises  from  a  mean 
elevation  of  11,000  feet.  We  find  that  its  diameter  at  this 
altitude  is  34,312  feet,  its  height  19,173  feet,  and  its  volume 
2,465,000,000,000  cubic  feet.  Assuming  the  specific  gravity  of 
the  materials  ejected  from  its  crater  to  be  two  and  five-tenths 
times  that  of  water,  the  weight  of  the  mountain  is  192,000,- 
000,000  tons,  but  this  represents  only  a  small  part  of  the 
material  that  has  been  emitted  from  the  volcano,  for  there  are 
vast  deposits  of  lava  extending  in  all  directions,  and  the  deserts 


a4o   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND  THE  OCEAN 

for  many  miles  distant  are  composed  to  unknown  depths  of 
volcanic  ash  and  rock. 

**  During  the  wet  season  the  storms  leave  Misti  covered 
with  snow  down  to  16,000  feet  and  sometimes  to  14,000  feet, 
but  if  the  following  day  chances  to  be  clear  the  fresh  snow 
will  disappear  before  night.  The  snow  always  lasts  longer  on 
the  southwest  side  of  the  mountain,  and  on  the  north  side  it 
disappears  very  rapidly,  which  is  due  to  the  fact  that  we  are 
south  of  the  equator,  and  that  during  the  clear  months  of  the 
year  the  sun  is  north  of  the  zenith.  It  is  a  fact,  however,  that 
snow  extends  to  a  much  lower  level  on  the  neighboring  ranges 
of  mountains.  This  is  attributed  to  internal  heat,  as  the  Misti 
is  a  volcano  in  a  state  of  considerable  activity,  and  exhibitions 
of  hot  vapor,  sulphuric  fumes  and  other  phenomenon  are 
apparent  to  all  observers. 

*'The  cone  of  the  mountain  is  composed  of  rugged  masses 
of  rock,  the  remains  of  ancient  lava  ilows,  and  vast  slopes  of 
volcanic  sand,  whose  angle  varies  between  30  and  35  degrees. 
The  few  persons  who  have  been  fortunate  enough  to  reach  the 
summit  have  been  surprised  at  the  extent  and  gloomy  gran- 
deur of  the  scenery.  The  crest  is  unmistakably  a  crater  formed 
by  the  original  upheaval,  and  the  maximum  diameter  is  about 
2.800  feet.  The  diameter  of  a  new  and  comparatively  modem 
crater  is  about  1,500  feet  at  the  top  and  500  feet  at  the  bottom, 
which  is  nearly  level  and  composed  of  yellow  lava  and  sulphur. 
The  vapors  playing  upon  this  produce  the  appearance  of  boil- 
ing sulphur,  and  in  former  times  people  reported  flames, 
which,  if  it  were  an  established  fact,  would  be  of  great  interest. 

"The  first  ascents  were  undoubtedly  made  before  the 
arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  and  are  beyond  the  reach  of  history 
and  even  tradition.  Within  the  crater  are  remains  of  walls 
and  firewood,  which  must  have  been  left  there  by  human 
hands,  and  the  old  writers  report  that  pagan  sacrificial  rites 
were  celebrated  there,  or  perhaps  it  may  have  been  the  custom 
among  the  Indians  to  bury  their  chiefs  at  this  great  altitude. 
The  first  expedition,  in  1677,  found  vestiges  of  a  stone  struc- 
ture marking  the  form  of  two  or  three  rooms,  which  still 
existed  two  centuries  later,  and  are  a  matter  of  great  interest. 


THE   QUAINT   OLD   CITY  OF  AREQUIPA      241 

That  expedition  is  said  to  have  ascended  the  volcano  by- 
ecclesiastical  and  royal  authority  to  investigate  the  cause  of  a 
dense  column  of  smoke  seen  rising  from  the  summit,  and  at 
other  times  during  the  same  period  similar  phenomena 
appeared,  but  nothing  definite  or  authoritative  exists  on  this 
subject,  and  for  two  centuries  at  least  El  Misti  has  been  semi- 
quiescent,  emitting  only  vapors  in  varying  quantities. 

"Many  persons  have  visited  the  crater  during  the  last  two 
centuries,  but  no  one  has  descended  into  the  crater.  With 
proper  appliances  this  would  be  by  no  means  impossible  but 
for  the  sulphurous  vapors  which  abound  there  and  which  would 
probably  be  fatal  to  life.  For  awhile  there  was  great  enthusi- 
asm for  ascending  the  Misti,  but  this  interest  was  terminated 
in  1878  by  the  sad  fate  of  two  English  tourists — Messrs.  Rider 
and  Rothwell — who  ascended,  and  in  attempting  to  make  the 
circuit  of  the  crater  lost  their  way,  became  exhausted  by 
hunger,  thirst  and  fatigue,  and  perished  among  the  cliffs  on 
the  north  side  of  the  mountain  near  the  present  mule  path. 

"A  variety  of  coarse  grass,  known  as  'paja,'  and  a  mosslike 
plant  growing  in  large  masses,  called  'yarata,'  are  found  as 
high  as  15,000  feet,  and  scattering  specimens  are  occasionally 
seen  at  an  altitude  of  17,000  feet.  Vicuna  and  guanacos  feed 
as  high  as  14,000  feet,  and  at  16,000  feet  various  birds  and  a 
small  animal  resembling  a  rabbit  have  been  met  with.  Con- 
dors have  been  seen  from  the  summit  flying  at  an  elevation 
much  greater  than  that  of  the  mountain. 

"At  an  altitude  of  13,300  feet  there  is  a  wretched  little  hut, 
known  as  the  'Tambo  del  Alto  de  los  Huesos,'  where  we  found 
an  old  woman,  with  a  grandchild  of  6  or  7  years,  who  furnished 
the  poorest  kind  of  accommodations.  During  the  first  evening 
we  spent  upon  the  mountain  in  August  1893,  she  regaled  us 
with  stories  of  her  experience  of  twenty-five  years  in  that 
dreary  spot,  and  said  that  many  people,  priests  and  ofi&cials, 
Arequipians  and  foreigners  had  tried  to  climb  the  mountain, 
but  most  of  them  had  died,  and  those  who  died  were  foreign- 
ers, which  was  rather  discouraging  under  the  circumstances. 

"At  the  height  of  16,500  feet  there  is  another  tambo,  or 
hut,  of  rough  stones,  with  a  roof  thatched  with  straw,  known 


242    BETWEEN  THE   ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

as  the  *Inn  of  the  Water  of  Miracles,'  from  the  fact  that 
according  to  tradition,  a  long  time  ago,  the  Lord  appeared  and 
ordered  water  to  flow  from  the  ground.  Near  the  hut  is  a 
perennial  spring  of  good  water,  welling  out  of  the  dry  sand, 
which,  curiously  enough,  only  flows  during  the  daytime.  The 
water  begins  to  run  about  9  in  the  morning,  and  ceases 
between  4  and  5  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

"In  1893,"  continued  Professor  Bailey,  "with  great  difli- 
culty  we  built  a  mule  trail  to  the  top  of  the  mountain  and 
established  our  meteorological  station  there.  Since  then  we 
have  visited  the  place  frequently,  and  the  mountain  is  always 
the  source  of  awe-inspiring  phenomena  as  well  as  scientific 
interest." 

In  the  principal  street  of  Arequipa,  half  a  block  from  the 
main  plaza  and  the  city  hall,  is  a  peculiar  institution,  which 
we  would  call  in  the  north  a  foundlings'  home.  The  most 
interesting  feature  of  the  place  is  a  square  hole  cut  in  a  heavy 
oaken  door  about  12  by  18  inches  in  size.  This  aperture 
closes  with  a  little  slide  which  may  be  easily  opened,  and  on 
the  inside  will  be  found  a  box  and  a  bell.  Any  person 
having  a  superfluous  baby  can  poke  it  through  that  hole,  drop 
it  into  the  box,  ring  the  bell  and  walk  away. 

This  institution  has  been  in  operation  for  more  than  a  cen- 
tury and  a  half.  It  was  founded  by  a  benevolent  gentleman 
named  Chaves,  and  is  supported  by  a  lottery,  private  subscrip- 
tions and  aid  from  the  state,  being  under  the  care  of  a  noble 
woman  of  great  business  ability — Madre  Angelica  of  the 
Catholic  Sisterhood  of  Mercy.  Every  child  that  arrives  in 
that  mysterious  way  is  taken  to  her  motherly  arms  to  be 
nursed  and  coddled,  clothed  and  educated  and  taught  a  trade, 
and  finally  graduates  from  the  institution  into  some  occupa- 
tion, or  is  adopted  by  some  family  who  may  or  may  not  have 
had  a  knowledge  of  its  birth.  Unless  the  child  has  a  name 
tacked  to  its  clothing,  it  is  christened  by  the  mother  superior, 
and  thereafter  bears  the  family  name  of  Chaves.  The  number 
of  Chaves  in  this  city  and  vicinity  is  very  large. 

Some  of  the  graduates  have  attained  eminence  and  influ- 
ence in  the  community,  but  most  of  them  belong  to  the  labor- 


THE   QUAINT   OLD   CITY  OF  AREQUIPA       243 

ing  class.  All,  however,  remember  with  gratitude  and 
affection  the  institution  which  sheltered  them  in  their  infancy 
and  gave  them  their  education,  and  which  is  always  a  home  to 
which  they  may  return  in  sickness  or  trouble  or  in  old  age. 
Twice  a  year,  on  the  anniversary  of  the  foundation  of  the 
institution  and  upon  the  saint's  day  of  Madre  Angelica,  a 
reunion  is  attended  by  as  many  of  the  former  inmates  as  can 
arrange  to  come.  The  ceremonies  are  similar  to  those  of  our 
Thanksgiving  day.  A  religious  service  is  held  and  a  sermon 
is  preached  from  an  appropriate  text,  and  then  all  join  in  a 
good  dinner  with  reminiscences  and  congratulations  and  hopes 
for  the  future. 

In  visiting  this  institution  I  was  impressed  with  its  compre- 
hensive benevolence,  and  although  a  good  many  children 
showed  evidences  of  aristocratic  block  and  some  were  plainly 
of  foreign  parentage,  the  majority  of  them  were  much  more 
clean,  comfortable  and  well  cared  for  than  they  could  have 
been  in  the  ordinary  home.  Interesting  romances  are  told  of 
the  institution.  Often  babies  left  there  in  the  night  are  taken 
away  by  remorseful  mothers  the  next  morning.  It  is  common 
too,  shortly  after  the  arrival  of  an  infant,  to  have  a  tearful 
woman  apply  for  a  position  as  wet  nurse,  and  although  she 
may  not  always  suspect  it,  the  experienced  nuns  often  compre- 
hend the  situation,  and  place  her  own  baby  in  her  arms. 

Saint  Francis  paid  a  seven  days'  visit  to  Saint  Dominic 
while  I  was  in  Arequipa  and  returned  to  his  own  church 
attended  by  an  imposing  retinue  and  much  ceremony.  The 
town  was  alive  with  flags.  The  public  buildings,  the  plaza 
and  many  private  houses  and  stores  were  decorated.  A  pro- 
cession with  two  bands  of  music  and  bodies  of  military,  civil 
officials,  monks,  benevolent  societies,  religious  orders  and 
citizens  attended  mass  at  Saint  Dominic's  church,  and  then 
escorted  the  image  of  Saint  Francis  through  the  principal 
streets  to  the  chapel  adjoining  the  Franciscan  monastery,  and 
there  remained  until  another  mass  was  celebrated  with  unusual 
formality.  During  the  progress  of  the  procession,  fireworks 
and  firecrackers  were  exploded  in  large  quantities,  and  as  the 
image  of  the  saint,  which  was  carried  upon  the  shoulders  of 


244   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

peons  under  a  canopy,  passed  by,  everybody  kneeled  and 
crossed  himself  and  said  a  prayer. 

The  event  was  duly  reported  in  the  morning  papers,  one 
of  them  beginning  with  the  following  paragraph : 

"The  image  of  the  Patriarch  of  Aziz  yesterday  returned  to 
his  own  temple  after  a  seven  days'  visit  at  the  temple  of  Santo 
Domingo.  He  was  accompanied  by  a  delegation  from  the 
order  of  Dominicans,  by  representatives  of  the  municipality, 
by  a  military  escort  and  a  large  concourse  of  citizens,  and  the 
progress  of  the  saint  through  the  streets  was  the  occasion  of  a 
popular  demonstration." 

In  Arequipa,  the  wealthy,  influential  and  aristocratic  fam- 
ilies nearly  all  belong  to  the  class  known  as  "fanaticos." 

It  is  customary  for  business  and  professional  men  to  retire 
for  a  few  days  every  year,  which  they  spend  in  some  monas- 
tery or  other  retreat,  purging  themselves  of  their  sins  by 
fasting,  prayer,  scourging  and  other  forms  of  torture.  Piety, 
or,  at  least,  the  observance  of  the  forms  of  religion,  is  essen- 
tial to  secure  and  retain  the  respect  of  the  people.  Nowhere 
else  in  South  America  do  the  men  pretend  to  perform  their 
religious  duties.  One  is  accustomed  to  see  only  women  at 
church,  but  in  Arequipa  almost  every  native  man  of  business 
attends  mass  every  morning  before  he  goes  to  his  office  or  his 
shop,  and  at  any  hour  during  the  day,  if  you  enter  a  church, 
you  will  find  as  many  men  as  women,  kneeling  with  clasped 
hands  before  the  altar.  Protestants  or  "Evangelicos, "  as  they 
are  called,  are  ostracised,  and  masons  are  forbidden  to  live  in 
this  city. 

A  magician  from  North  America  who  visited  Arequipa, 
"billed"  the  town  with  attractive  posters  such  as  are  used  by 
Hermann,  Kellar  and  other  sleight-of-hand  men  on  the  northern 
continent,  the  chief  performer  being  represented  in  the  pictures 
on  the  most  familiar  terms  with  devils  of  various  sizes.  The 
day  after  these  posters  appeared  on  the  dead  walls  of  the  city 
the  magician  received  a  visit  from  the  bishop,  who  inquired 
whether  he  pretended  to  exercise  a  supernatural  influence  over 
evil  spirits.  The  magician  replied  that  he  did  not,  that  his 
tricks  were  entirely  mechanical  and  were  produced  by  appa- 


^  OF  THK        ' 

JNIVERSI': 


THE   QUAINT   OLD   CITY  OF  AREQUIPA      245 

ratus  which  he  had  himself  invented,  and  by  the  dexterity  of 
his  hands.  The  bishop  admonished  him  that  this  fact  should 
be  fully  explained  to  the  public,  because  an  impression  to  the 
contrary  had  been  created,  and  unless  it  was  corrected  it  would 
be  necessary  to  prohibit  the  performance. 

The  magician  promised  to  make  the  matter  clear  to  his 
audience  before  commencing  the  first  performance,  and  he 
endeavored  to  do  so  to  the  satisfaction  of  two  priests  who  sat 
in  one  of  the  front  rows  for  the  purpose  of  censorship.  The 
next  morning,  however,  the  magician  found  that  all  the  posters 
that  contained  pictures  of  devils  had  been  scraped  off  by  order 
of  the  bishop,  but  the  next  night  he  hired  men  to  replace  them 
and  pasted  the  biggest  poster  in  his  collection  upon  the  walls 
of  one  of  the  churches.  In  the  morning  there  was  a  crowd  of 
curious  people  around  it,  watching  a  gang  of  men  who  were 
scraping  it  off.  Everybody  in  town  knew  of  the  incident, 
and  it  turned  out  to  be  a  valuable  advertisement. 

In  the  old  times  before  the  railway  was  built  it  was  a 
journey  of  twenty  or  thirty  days  across  the  desert  to  reach 
Bolivia,  and  even  now,  strange  as  it  may  appear,  some  prim- 
itive-minded people  prefer  to  go  that  way.  Thousands  of 
burros  and  llamas  are  still  engaged  in  competition  with  the 
railways  transporting  ore,  wool,  hides,  coca,  chinchona  and 
other  natural  products  from  the  interior  to  Arica  and  other 
ports,  and  carrying  back  into  the  mountains  cotton  goods, 
hardware  and  other  merchandise  of  all  sorts  from  England 
and  France,  and  even  more  from  Germany,  as  the  Germans 
are  rapidly  assuming  the  lion's  share  of  the  trade.  The  dis- 
tance by  railway  to  Lake  Titicaca  is  325  miles.  The  burro 
trail  is  considerably  shorter,  averaging  250  miles,  because  the 
animals  can  climb  mountains  that  are  impassable  for  railway 
trains,  and  many  men,  women  and  even  families  spend  their 
entire  lives  upon  it.  You  can  see  them  at  the  stations  when 
they  are  resting,  and  from  the  car  windows  when  the  trail  and 
the  railway  track  run  in  parallel  lines.  They  trudge  along, 
patient,  enduring  and  oblivious  to  the  value  of  time  and  the 
sense  of  fatigue. 

The  arrerios  in  charge  of  llama  and  burro  trains  are  usually 


246    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

accompanied  by  their  entire  families,  and  as  their  lives  are 
spent  in  coming  and  going  over  the  burning  sands  and  the 
sharp  rocks  of  the  desert  it  is  a  matter  of  comparative  indiffer- 
ence to  them  how  long  the  journey  lasts.  The  animals  are 
the  capital  of  the  arrerio.  The  desert  is  his  home.  His  wife 
helps  in  the  driving  and  sleeps  by  his  side  on  the  sand.  They 
have  no  tent  or  other  shelter,  but  wrap  their  ponchos  around 
them  and  lie  down  to  pleasant  dreams  in  the  frosty  air  with 
their  bare  feet  and  legs  exposed,  while  the  ice  forms  in  the 
little  streams  beside  them. 

Sometimes  they  are  overtaken  by  snow-storms  in  the 
mountains,  but  they  do  not  seem  to  suffer  and  are  seldom 
known  to  perish  in  the  cold,  although  they  wade  along  in  their 
bare  feet.  When  you  express  surprise  at  their  endurance 
those  who  have  had  experience  in  both  continents  remind  you 
that  in  Canada  and  the  northern  parts  of  the  United  States 
people  drive  long  distances  with  the  thermometer  at  40  below 
zero  without  covering  their  faces,  and  the  boys  snowball  and 
skate  in  a  very  low  temperature  without  freezing  their  hands 
or  their  heads.  It  is  merely  a  matter  of  habit.  The  South 
American  Indian  bundles  all  the  blankets  he  can  find  around 
his  head  and  keeps  his  feet  cool.  The  North  American 
reverses  the  rule — keeps  his  feet  warm  and  exposes  his  head 
and  arms. 

Children  who  are  too  small  to  walk,  babies  two  or  three 
days  old,  are  allowed  to  ride  on  the  donkeys  when  their 
parents  are  driving  the  train.  They  are  born  by  the  wayside" 
like  the  lambs  of  the  flocks,  and  no  more  fuss  is  made  by  the 
mother  than  you  hear  from  the  patient  ewe.  They  spend  the 
first  years  of  their  lives  in  a  pannier  on  the  side  of  a  burro  or 
a  llama,  where  they  roll  around  among  the  surplus  clothing 
and  cooking  utensils  of  the  family.  For  a  change  the  mother 
wraps  the  babe  in  a  poncho  and  slips  it  over  her  back,  and 
when  it  makes  a  requisition  for  supplies  she  sits  down  by  the 
roadside  and  issues  rations  from  the  bountiful  commissary 
departments  which  nature  has  provided.  Thus  life  begins  for 
many  an  arrerio,  and  thus  it  ends.  You  see  old  men  and 
women,  as  well  as  children,  stumbling  over  the  stones  in  the 


THE   QUAINT   OLD   CITY  OF  AREQUIPA      247 

dust  of  a  llama  train  or  a  pack  of  burros  whose  weary,  event- 
less years  have  been  spent  following  those  same  animals,  and 
whose  first  and  only  home  is  the  mud  hut  in  which  sooner  or 
later  they  must  lie  down  and  die. 

It  takes  from  twenty  to  thirty  days,  as  I  have  said,  for  pack 
trains  to  travel  from  the  seaports  on  the  western  coast  of 
South  America  to  the  interior  cities  that  lie  in  the  puna,  as 
they  call  the  great  basin  between  the  two  ranges  of  the  Andes, 
and  they  carry  everything.  The  steamers  upon  Lake  Titicaca 
were  brought  piece  by  piece  from  Arica,  a  distance  of  250 
miles,  on  the  backs  of  mules,  and  were  put  together  on  their 
arrival  at  Puno.  The  machinery  in  most  of  the  mines  had  the 
same  experience,  and  before  the  railway  was  built  everything 
had  to  go  that  way.  Nowadays  transportation  is  comparatively 
easy  and  cheap.  The  freight  charges  on  the  pack  trains  are 
surprisingly  low,  even  as  low  as  those  charged  by  the  railway 
— from  20  to  25  shillings  a  ton  for  a  distance  of  300  miles  or 
less.  Mr.  Grundy,  who  runs  the  smelter  at  Maravillas,  tells 
me  that  they  pay  only  10  cents  a  load  for  ore  brought  in  by 
the  llamas,  no  matter  what  the  distance  may  be. 

A  llama  will  bear  100  pounds  and  no  more.  He  will  carry 
his  load  of  ore  or  wood  or  coca  or  other  merchandise  up  and 
down  precipitous  pathways,  where  no  other  beast  of  burden 
can  go,  and  where  it  is  difficult  for  man  to  follow,  but  when 
he  is  overloaded  he  resents  it  and  lies  down.  No  amount  of 
bullying  or  beating  or  coaxing  can  induce  him  to  rise  until  the 
excess  is  removed  from  his  back  when  he  solemnly  resumes 
his  feet  and  marches  off  with  his  legitimate  load.  His  cargo 
is  packed  in  sacks  or  panniers,  one-half  on  either  side.  There- 
fore all  freight  subject  to  this  mode  of  transportation  must  be 
packed  accordingly,  and  the  packages  limited  to  fifty  pounds. 
Mr.  Grundy  says  that  the  distance  from  the  mine  to  the 
smelter  or  the  railway  station  may  be  five  or  it  may  be  fifty 
miles,  the  charge  for  transportation  is  always  the  same. 

The  reports  from  the  custom  house  at  Arica  for  1898,  the 
latest  obtainable,  show  that  11,932  cargoes  were  transported  by 
mules  to  Bolivia,  24,522  by  burros  and  25,999  by  llamas,  mak- 
ing a  total  of  62,456,  having  a  total  weight  of  9,851,000  pounds. 


248   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

As  the  average  cargo  for  a  mule  is  225  pounds,  for  a  donkey 
150  pounds,  and  for  a  llama  100  pounds,  the  amount  of  freight 
thus  carried  over  the  desert  and  the  mountains  to  the  interior 
of  Bolivia  alone  from  that  one  port  would  furnish  cargoes  for 
43,338  mules,  65,673  donkeys  or  98,510  llamas. 

It  is  quite  probable  that  an  equal  amount  of  cargo  was  car- 
ried by  the  same  means  to  the  interior  of  Peru. 

As  the  camel  is  to  the  people  of  the  deserts  of  Asia  and 
Africa,  so  is  the  llama  to  those  who  dwell  in  the  Andes,  a 
faithful,  patient  and  enduring  beast,  docile,  sure-footed  and 
speedy,  without  which  the  inhabitants  would  be  utterly  help- 
less in  some  sections,  for  mules  and  horses  cannot  endure  the 
high  altitude  and  the  rarefied  atmosphere.  Even  the  burros 
have  their  nostrils  slit  or  large  round  holes  punched  through 
them  in  order  to  make  it  easier  for  them  to  breathe.  When  a 
horse  is  first  brought  into  the  high  altitude  of  the  Andes  the 
blood  drips  from  his  mouth,  ears  and  nose,  and  it  takes  a  long 
time  for  him  to  become  acclimated.  Mules  are  more  enduring 
and  burros  are  better  still,  but  the  llama  is  native  to  the  snow- 
clad  peaks  and  thrives  best  where  other  animals  find  existence 
difficult  if  not  impossible. 

It  costs  nothing  to  keep  llamas.  They  pick  up  their  food 
by  the  wayside.  It  looks  incredible  to  one  who  travels  over 
the  terrible  deserts,  but  it  is  nevertheless  a  fact.  Like 
camels,  they  can  go  a  long  time  without  food  or  water,  and 
grow  fat  on  amazing  short  rations  at  all  times,  but  when  the 
arrerio  comes  to  a  good  piece  of  grazing  he  lets  his  amimals 
linger  and  feed  until  they  are  satisfied.  It  may  be  an  hour  or 
it  may  be  two  or  three  days,  if  the  grass  is  good  and  plenty. 
Time  is  no  object,  and  the  welfare  of  the  beasts  is  very 
important. 

Llamas  are  stately  creatures,  proud  and  dignified.  Their 
little  heads  are  always  in  the  air,  and  their  giraffe-like  necks  are 
proudly  and  gracefully  curved.  Their  eyes  are  large,  lustrous, 
intelligent  and  melancholy,  and  have  an  expression  of  suspi- 
cion or  constant  inquiry.  Their  ears  are  shapely  and  quiver 
continually  like  those  of  a  high-mettled  stallion,  as  if  to  catch 
the  first  sound  of  approaching  danger.     When  frightened  they 


THE   QUAINT   OLD   CITY   OF   AREQUIPA       249 

scatter  over  the  desert  in  every  direction,  and  when  cornered 
they  cluster  in  groups  with  their  tails  together  and  their  heads 
out  to  meet  the  enemy.  Their  only  weapon  of  defense  is  their 
saliva,  which,  when  angry,  they  squirt  through  their  teeth  in 
showers,  as  a  Chinese  laundryman  sprinkles  clothes.  A  drop 
of  this  saliva  falling  in  the  ear  or  eye  or  on  any  part  of  the 
body  where  the  skin  is  broken  will  produce  a  painful  irritation 
and  dangerous  sores  like  the  venom  of  a  serpent. 

The  drivers  keep  them  together  by  throwing  coils  of  rope 
over  their  heads  so  that  the  neck  of  one  is  a  hitching  post  for 
another.  They  are  such  fools  that  they  will  not  run  in  the 
same  direction,  nor  even  in  couples,  but  every  one  strikes  out 
for  himself  when  they  become  excited.  When  they  lie  down 
they  fold  their  long  and  slender  legs  under  them  in  some 
mysterious  manner  and  chew  their  cuds  with  an  air  of  contem- 
plation and  content.  The  kids  afford  excellent  food,  but  old 
llamas  who  have  been  on  the  road  a  long  time  are  rank  and 
tough  masses  of  muscle,  tendon  and  gristle. 

Although  the  llama  is  naturally  docile  and  obedient,  he  has 
a  furious  temper,  and  duels  take  place  in  the  herd  which  con- 
tinue until  one  of  the  combatants,  and  often  both,  are  killed. 
They  bite  and  kick,  and  make  a  horrible  noise,  and  when  the 
weaker  one  tries  to  run  away  the  stronger  will  pursue  it  and 
keep  up  the  combat  until  death  ensues. 

They  always  go  in  packs,  and  will  follow  a  leader,  which 
is  usually  a  pet  animal  decorated  with  bits  of  gay  calico  and 
ribbons  braided  in  its  wool.  It  carries  a  little  tinkling  bell 
around  its  neck,  like  a  madrina,  the  gray  mare  that  is  usually 
found  in  every  drove  of  mules.  The  arrerio  or  his  wife  goes 
ahead  on  foot  or  on  a  burro.  The  pet  follows,  and  the  pack 
follow  him,  stopping  to  graze  as  they  go.  If  kindly  treated, 
the  llama  can  be  trained  to  all  sorts  of  tricks,  like  a  colt  or  a 
lamb,  but  it  is  not  naturally  intelligent.  It  is  one  of  the  most 
stupid  of  animals.  The  female  llama  is  never  loaded,  but  is 
kept  in  the  pasture.  She  costs  about  $1.50  when  young,  and 
twice  as  much  when  in  her  prime.  The  males  cost  from  $2.50 
to  $5,  according  to  age  and  condition.  A  burro  is  worth  from 
$7  to  $10.     An  Indian  who  has  twenty- five  to  thirty  llamas  or 


250    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

burros  is  therefore  well  fixed  and  can  make  a  good  living. 
He  is  an  independent  transportation  company  all  by  himself, 
and  can  always  find  something  to  do.  His  rates  of  freight  are 
fixed  by  a  custom  that  is  as  old  as  the  trail  he  follows,  and  are 
never  changed.  The  value  of  money  may  go  up  and  down 
according  to  the  rates  of  exchange,  but  the  charges  for  trans- 
portation by  a  llama  train  go  on  the  same  forever,  and  the 
arrerio  insists  upon  being  paid  in  Bolivian  money,  the  little  sil- 
ver coin  that  was  originally  intended  to  correspond  to  a  franc. 
This  is  said  to  be  due  to  the  fact  that  the  Peruvian  coins  are 
counterfeited,  while  those  of  Bolivia  are  not.  People  say 
that  in  one  of  the  villages  on  Lake  Titicaca  there  is  a  man 
running  a  private  mint  and  turning  out  Peruvian  coins  in  large 
quantities.  The  Indians  are  aware  of  this,  and  therefore  insist 
upon  receiving  their  pay  in  Bolivian  money. 

Llamas  are  never  ridden,  except  by  children^  who  some- 
times mount  their  pets,  and  unless  they  are  very  tame  and 
well  trained  they  will  not  permit  even  a  child  to  climb  upon 
their  backs.  Nor  is  the  male  llama  ever  sheared,  although  the 
female  in  the  pasture  is  usually  clipped  in  the  spring. 

The  llama  was  the  beast  of  burden  of  the  Incas,  and  to  its 
possession  is  attributed  their  superiority  over  and  final  subju- 
gation of  the  neighboring  races. 

The  vicuna,  a  sort  of  gazelle,  a  gentle,  timid  animal,  is  also 
native  to  this  part  of  the  Andes,  and  is  found  nowhere  else. 
It  has  long  soft  silken  hair  of  caf^  au  lait  color,  with  a  peculiar 
luster.  In  the  days  of  the  Incas,  before  the  Spanish  invasion, 
the  vicuna  wool  was  the  exclusive  material  for  the  royal  robes, 
and  none  but  members  of  the  imperial  family  and  nobles  of  a 
certain  rank  were  allowed  to  wear  it.  Ponchos  that  are  i,ooo 
years  old  have  been  taken  from  the  graves  in  the  Inca  ceme- 
teries. The  animal  was  protected  by  the  laws  of  the  empire, 
and  was  allowed  to  go  unharmed  in  the  mountains,  where  it 
accumulated  in  great  numbers  until  remorselessly  slaugh- 
tered for  food  by  the  Spanish  invaders.  The  Indians  expected 
that  some  severe  penalty  would  be  visited  upon  the  Spaniards 
for  this  sacrilege,  but  divine  retribution  was  withheld.  The 
vicunas  are  now  comparatively  scarce,  and  very  little  of  the 


THE   QUAINT   OLD   CITY  OF   AREQUIPA       251 

wool  is  shipped  out  of  the  country.  The  entire  product  is 
absorbed  in  making  ponchos  upon  the  native  looms.  The 
wool  is  so  light  and  yet  so  warm  that  it  is  admirably  adapted 
for  that  purpose,  and  a  vicuna  poncho  is  considered  an  essen- 
tial part  of  the  wardrobe  of  every  gentleman.  The  Germans 
have  succeeded  in  imitating  it  with  great  accuracy,  but  a 
native  Bolivian  is  never  deceived. 

The  guanaco  is  a  cross  of  the  vicuna  and  the  llama,  and 
is  bred  both  for  its  fur  and  its  flesh.  It  has  many  of  the  char- 
acteristics of  the  North  American  antelope,  and  the  hide  is 
invaluable  to  the  Indians,  particularly  in  the  southern  part  of 
the  continent,  as  it  furnishes  the  material  of  which  their  gar- 
ments are  made.  The  guanaco  fur,  however,  is  never  woven 
like  the  vicuna.     It  is  never  removed  from  the  pelt. 

The  alpaca  is  said  to  be  a  cross  of  the  llama  and  the  sheep, 
but  that  is  denied  by  zoologists,  who  claim  that  it  is  also  a 
native  of  this  country  and  was  abundant  here  before  the 
Spaniards  came.  It  certainly  thrives  nowhere  else,  and  all  of 
the  alpaca  wool  that  is  used  in  Europe  comes  from  South 
America.  Some  years  ago  an  enterprising  Australian  by  the 
name  of  Ledger  attempted  to  transplant  the  alpaca  to  Aus- 
tralia. The  export  of  the  animal  was  forbidden  by  the 
Peruvian  government,  but  Mr.  Ledger  succeeded  in  driving  a 
flock  across  the  Cordillera  into  Chile  and  shipping  them  from 
the  port  of  Copiapo.  Many  of  them  died  at  sea.  The  remain- 
der arrived  in  Australia  much  reduced  in  flesh  and  vitality. 
Within  four  years  after  their  arrival  the  entire  flock  was 
extinct,  because  they  could  not  live  in  a  moist  and  warm 
atmosphere.  The  experiment  has  been  repeated  several  times, 
with  no  better  success. 

The  alpaca  wool  is  claimed  to  be  the  finest  in  the  world, 
the  staple  averaging  twelve  inches  long  and  being  sometimes 
twenty  inches,  while  that  of  ordinary  wool  is  not  more 
than  six  or  eight.  An  interesting  story  is  told  of  the  intro- 
duction of  alpaca  into  British  factories.  It  was  used  by  the 
Incas  and  by  the  Spaniards  after  the  conquest,  and  a  consid- 
erable quantity  was  sent  to  Spain,  but  curiously  enough  the 
Englishmen  never  got  hold  of  it,  and  although  its  superiority 


252    BETWEEN   THE  ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

was  apparent,    there  was  no    demand   for    it    in    the    wool 
market. 

The  story  goes  that  about  1830  a  Bradford  weaver  by  the 
name  of  Titus  Salt,  while  walking  through  the  Liverpool  docks 
one  day,  observed  a  broken  bale  of  an  odd -looking  wool  of 
intensely  black  color.  He  pulled  out  a  handful,  rubbed  it, 
twisted  it,  tried  to  break  it,  and  finally  took  it  home  and 
examined  it  more  carefully.  The  next  morning  he  returned 
to  the  dock,  hunted  up  the  people  to  whom  the  broken  bale 
was  consigned,  and  found  that  they  had  a  number  of  bales  of 
the  same  material,  which  they  called  alpaca  wool,  for  which 
they  had  been  unable  to  find  a  market.  Mr.  Salt  took  the 
whole  lot  off  their  hands  for  a  nominal  price,  and  spent  a  good 
deal  of  money  in  adapting  his  machinery  to  spinning  and 
weaving  it.  This  was  the  first  introduction  of  alpaca  wool  into 
England,  and  practically  the  market  in  Europe  although  a 
limited  quantity  had  been  previously  used  in  Spain.  Bradford 
has  continued  to  this  day  to  be  the  center  of  the  trade. 


XVII 

CUZCO,  THE  CAPITAL  OF  THE  INCAS 

Four  hundred  years  ago  Cuzco  was  the  most  important 
city  in  America,  with  a  population  of  200,000  or  more,  and  a 
wealth  that  few  communities  of  human  kind  have  ever  sur- 
passed. It  is  now  a  dismal,  dirty,  half-deserted  habitation  of 
from  thirty  to  forty  thousand  ignorant  and  indolent  Indians 
with  perhaps  five  or  six  hundred  whites  who  own  the  property 
and  conduct  what  little  business  is  done  there.  Cuzco  was  the 
capital  of  the  Inca  empire,  and  the  residence  of  a  long  line  of 
kings  who  lived  in  splendid  circumstances  and  v>rere  sur- 
irounded  by  a  court  of  enormous  riches  and  remarkable  taste 
or  art  and  architecture,  considering  the  isolation  in  which 
aey  lived  and  their  entire  ignorance  of  the  existence  of  other 
iiations  beyond  the  mountains  and  the  ocean  that  confined 
them. 

Each  successive  Inca  is  said  to  have  erected  a  new  palace 
at  Cuzco,  and  more  spacious  than  those  of  his  predecessors 
and  several  erected  temples  and  convents  for  religious  pur- 
poses that  rivaled  the  royal  residences  in  extent  and  magnifi- 
cence. It  is  almost  impossible  to  believe  the  narratives  of  the 
writers  who  went  there  with  Pizarro  and  witnessed  the  city 
before  it  was  plundered  and  destroyed ;  but  the  ruins  are  mute 
witnesses  of  the  opulence  and  power  of  the  Incas,  and  go  far 
to  corroborate  the  stories  that  amazed  the  people  of  Europe  in 
the  sixteenth  century  and  still  seem  fabulous  to  us.  There 
are  now  in  the  city  of  Cuzco,  for  a  population  less  than  40,000, 
thirty  churches  and  eleven  convents  and  monasteries.  Seven 
of  the  latter,  however,  have  been  suppressed.  The  city  is  the 
seat  of  a  bishopric  and  a  university,  which  occupy  structures 
of  imposing  character  that  were  either  the  palaces  or  shrines 
of  prehistoric  construction  or  have  been  rebuilt  from  the  ruins. 

253 


254   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

The  church  of  the  Jesuits,  the  cathedral,  and  the  church  of 
La  Merced,  which  front  the  public  square,  are  marvels  of 
architectural  beauty,  and  the  courts  and  cloisters  oi  the  con- 
vent attached  to  the  latter  church  are  admirable  in  their  pro- 
portions and  are  surrounded  by  colonnades  of  white  stone 
elaborately  carved,  which  in  grace  and  harmony  challenge 
comparison  with  the  great  cathedrals  and  monasteries  of 
Europe.  Within  this  church  lie  the  remains  of  Juan  and 
Gonzalvo  Pizarro,  the  brothers  of  the  conqueror  of  Peru,  and 
those  of  Almagro,  his  partner  in  the  conquest.  There  are 
other  churches  of  imposing  architecture  built  from  the  ruins  of 
the  Inca  palaces  and  temples,  which  perhaps  were  more 
splendid  in  their  day  than  anything  that  existed  in  the  new 
world,  but  they  are  all  the  victims  of  time  and  negligence, 
and  are  crumbling  to  pieces. 

Ninety  per  cent  or  more  of  the  population  are  pure  Indians, 
and  the  Quichua  language,  which  was  spoken  by  the  Incas,  is 
still  in  common  use.  In  fact,  the  great  majority  of  the  people 
do  not  understand  Spanish.  The  whites,  who  are  compara- 
tively few,  are  priests  and  monks,  government  officials, 
haciendados  who  live  most  of  the  time  upon  their  estates  in 
the  valley,  and  a  few  foreign  shopkeepers,  mostly  Germans.  _ 
Some  of  the  old  families  still  retain  ancestral  homes  filled  with 
massive  furniture,  gilded  mirrors  and  costly  damask  hangings 
that  were  brought  to  Peru  250  years  ago,  when  it  was  the 
richest  and  the  most  extravagant  country  on  earth,  and  when 
the  nobility  and  wealth  were  concentrated  at  Cuzco.  Most  of 
these  houses  are  in  a  state  of  advanced  decay,  for  their  pro- 
prietors are  suffering  from  a  hereditary  and  incurable  disease 
called  pride  and  poverty.  Their  estates  have  been  ruined  by 
neglect  and  the  devastation  of  revolutionary  armies,  and  their 
mines  are  no  longer  profitable  because  of  the  low  price  of 
silver.  They  lived  on  borrowed  money  as  long  as  the  bankers 
and  commission  houses  would  accept  mortgages  upon  their 
plantations,  and  now  nobody  knows  and  many  people  wonder 
where  they  find  the  means  of  sustenance.  Their  pride  will 
not  permit  them  to  work,  and  their  poverty  makes  it  impossi- 
ble for  them  to  develop  the  natural  resources  that  lie  dormant 


I 


CUZCO,    THE   CAPITAL   OF  THE   INCAS        255 

in  their  property.  Most  of  the  money  that  comes  into  Cuzco 
now  is  sent  to  buy  wool,  for  the  mountains  are  covered  with 
flocks  of  alpacas  and  other  breeds  of  sheep  whose  fleeces  com- 
mand a  high  price  in  the  foreign  markets.  A  few  enterprising 
foreigners  contribute  to  the  general  welfare  by  operating 
copper  mines,  and  if  permanent  peace  could  be  assured,  Cuzco 
might  sometime  recover  its  former  prosperity;  but  I  doubt 
whether  the  present  population  is  capable  of  acquiring  that 
human  talent  known  as  enterprise.  If  their  ancestors  had 
shown  as  much  energy  in  the  development  of  the  vast  riches 
that  are  buried  in  the  mountains  as  they  displayed  in  searching 
the  ruins  of  the  Inca  edifices  for  gold  and  other  treasure, 
there  would  have  been  permanent  prosperity,  and  even  now, 
after  350  years  have  been  spent  in  digging  for  secret  vaults 
and  other  places  of  concealment,  the  Spanish  inhabitants  of 
that  part  of  Peru  can  always  raise  money  somehow  to  pay  the 
expense  of  chasing  some  wild  goose  that  is  supposed  to  lay 
golden  eggs. 

For  example,  on  the  road  from  Puno  to  Cuzco,  at  the  sum- 
mit of  a  hill,  in  the  crater  of  a  volcano,  is  a  small  and  mys- 
terious lake  called  Urcos,  which  has  no  outlet  and  no  bottom. 
For  more  than  three  centuries  the  inhabitants  of  that  region 
and  many  speculators  from  Europe  have  been  plunging  year 
after  year  into  its  icy  waters  to  recover  a  golden  chain  that 
belonged  to  the  Inca  Huayna  Capac,  which  was  thrown  in 
there  to  spite  the  Spaniards.  This  chain,  according  to  the 
tales  of  the  writers  of  the  time  of  the  conquest,  was  of  pure 
gold,  wrought  into  links  about  one  foot  in  length  and  * '  as  large 
as  a  man's  arm. "  It  was  long  enough  to  stretch  twice  around 
the  grand  plaza  in  Cuzco,  which  is  nearly  as  large  as  Madison 
Square  in  New  York,  so  that  it  must  have  been  nearly  half  a 
mile  in  length.  When  Pizarro  and  his  squadrons  approached 
Cuzco  the  custodians  of  the  Inca's  palace  fled  with  the  women 
of  the  royal  family,  and  carried  with  them  such  articles  of 
value  as  could  be  concealed  and  transported  upon  the  backs 
of  the  llamas.  Before  they  h^d  gone  many  miles  they  found 
the  great  chain  of  gold  a  serious  obstacle  to  their  progress, 
and  the  high  priest,  who  seems  to  have  been  in  charge  of  the 


256   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND  THE   OCEAN 

party,  commanded  the  servants  to  cast  it  into  the  waters  of 
the  lake.  The  names  of  the  priest  and  his  companions  who 
witnessed  the  act  are  given  in  the  early  chronicles,  with  all  the 
details  of  the  transaction,  and  an  account  of  the  efforts  that 
were  made  to  recover  the  treasure.  Those  efforts  have  been 
continued  ever  since,  with  more  or  less  interruption.  At  one 
time  a  syndicate  called  the  Huayna  Capac  Chain  Recovery 
Company  was  organized,  with  a  capital  of  $5,000,000,  for  the 
purpose  of  boring  a  tunnel  to  drain  the  lake.  After  spending 
a  large  sum  of  money  it  was  found  that  the  mountain  was 
composed  almost  entirely  of  living  rock,  so  that  the  enterprise 
was  abandoned. 

It  was  at  Cuzco,  more  than  a  hundred  years  ago,  that 
Tupac  Amaru,  a  descendant  of  Huascar,  the  last  of  the  Incas, 
organized  an  uprising  of  the  Indians  to  wrest  the  capital  of 
his  fathers  from  the  hands  of  the  Spaniards,  and  exterminate 
the  foreign  invaders  of  Peru.  For  a  time  it  appeared  that  he 
might  be  successful,  and  that  the  banner  of  the  Incas  might 
again  float  above  the  massive  walls  of  the  great  fortress,  but 
he  was  betrayed  and  taken  prisoner,  and  after  being  com- 
pelled to  witness  the  execution  of  his  wife  and  son,  he  was 
himself  "quartered"  by  wild  horses  in  the  great  square  of 
Cuzco  under  the  walls  of  three  churches  dedicated  to  a  merci- 
ful God.  This  horror  occurred  on  the  21st  day  of  May,  1781, 
and  was  witnessed  by  a  multitude  of  people.  Iron  rings  were 
forged  upon  the  wrists  and  ankles  of  the  young  Inca,  to  which 
four  chains  were  attached,  and  each  chain  was  hitched  to  a 
restive  and  powerful  horse.  When  the  cruel  arrangements 
were  complete  the  master  of  ceremonies  cracked  his  whip  at 
the  frantic  animals,  and  each  started  in  a  different  direction, 
tearing  the  body  of  Tupac  Amaru  into  four  pieces. 

Volumes  have  been  written  to  describe  the  palaces,  the 
temples  and  the  fortresses  of  Cuzco.  Prescott,  a  blind  man, 
has  written  the  most  beautiful  and  accurate  description  that 
has  ever  appeared  in  print,  and  Prof.  Adolph  Bandelier,  a 
famous  archaeologist,  is  still  employed  in  a  thorough  investiga- 
tion of  secrets  which  science  has  not  yet  revealed.  Professor 
Bandelier  is  engaged  in  exploring  the  ruins  about  Cuzco  in  the 


CUZCO,    THE   CAPITAL   OF  THE   INCAS        257 

interest  of  the  New  York  Museum  of  Natural  History,  and 
the  reports  of  his  discoveries  will  no  doubt  be  more  valuable 
than  any  that  have  yet  appeared,  because  he  is  working  by 
the  light  of  experience  and  an  exact  science. 

Cuzco  stands  at  an  elevation  of  11,380  feet  above  the  sea. 
It  occupies  one  of  the  most  beautiful  sites  ever  selected  for  a 
city,  which,  according  to  tradition,  was  chosen  by  Manco 
Capac  and  Mama  Ocla,  those  mysterious  beings  who  called 
themselves  the  "Children  of  the  Sun,"  and  appeared  about 
the  seventh  century  after  Christ  to  teach  the  arts  and  indus- 
tries of  civilization  to  the  savage  Indians  of  the  Andes,  and 
founded  a  dynasty  which  grew  in  power  and  influence  until  it 
conquered  nearly  all  that  half  of  the  continent  of  South 
America  which  lies  west  of  the  Andes.  The  climate  of  Cuzco 
is  salubrious  and  healthful.  Were  it  different,  the  accumulated " 
filth  of  generations  would  make  the  city  uninhabitable.  There 
are  no  sewers,  and  all  the  ofEal  from  the  houses  is  dumped  into 
the  streets.  Within  twenty  miles  down  the  valley,  all  the 
semi-tropical  fruits  and  vegetables  are  produced,  and  although 
the  soil  in  that  vicinity  has  been  cultivated  for  centuries,  it 
still  yields  harvests  of  all  the  staples  of  the  temperate  zone. 
When  Manco  Capac  laid  out  the  city  he  divided  it  into  four 
quarters  by  four  roads  leading  to  corresponding  portions  of 
the  empire.  Their  direction  was  fixed  by  the  configuration 
of  the  country,  and  they  run  from  northeast  to  southwest,  and 
from  northwest  to  southeast,  crossing  in  the  central  plaza  of 
the  old  city. 

In  one  of  these  quarters,  on  a  hill  known  as  Sacsahuaman, 
the  first  Inca  built  his  palace,  which  was  surrounded  by  tem- 
ples, convents  and  fortifications  erected  for  their  protection. 
The  nuns  of  St.  Catilena  now  occupy  the  restored  ruins  of  the 
palace  of  the  Virgins  of  the  Sun ;  the  friars  of  Santo  Domingo 
occupy  a  magnificent  and  extensive  monastery,  rebuilt  from 
the  walls  of  the  Temple  of  the  Sun,  which  was  perhaps  the 
most  extensive,  imposing  and  gorgeous  building  in  America. 
The  accounts  of  its  splendor  and  riches  that  have  come  down 
to  us  from  those  who  destroyed  it  are  almost  beyond  belief. 
They  said  it  was  400  paces  square,  which  would  be  about  1,200 


258    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

feet.  Its  high  walls  of  finely  dressed  stone,  enclosed  courts, 
gardens,  chapels,  shrines  and  various  other  apartments  for 
religious  sacrifices  and  ceremonies.  The  cornices  of  the  walls 
outside  and  in,  the  Spaniards  say,  were  of  solid  gold,  and  at 
the  eastern  end  in  the  great  courtyard  a  massive  plate  of  gold, 
representing  the  sun,  spread  from  one  wall  to  the  other, 
which,  according  to  the  measurements  of  the  court  in  which 
it  is  said  to  have  been  placed,  must  have  been  sixty  feet  in 
diameter.  Before  it,  seated  upon  golden  thrones  and  wearing 
the  robes  of  their  royal  office  were  the  embalmed  and  dessi- 
cated  bodies  of  dead  Incas ;  Huayna  Capac,  the  greatest  of  the 
Incas,  being  honored  with  the  place  beneath  the  center  of  the 
symbol.  The  inner  walls  of  the  temples  were  covered  with 
gold  plate,  and  showed  a  high  degree  of  artistic  skill  on  the 
part  of  the  native  goldsmiths;  the  garden,  600  feet  long  by  300 
feet  broad,  was  filled  with  figures  of  men,  animals,  birds, 
reptiles  and  insects,  of  life  size  in  the  same  precious  metal. 
The  walls  of  a  dozen  other  temples  and  palaces,  convents  and 
fortresses  still  remain,  and  are  utilized  for  modern  structures, 
so  that  it  is  easy  to  define  the  outlines  of  the  ancient  city,  and 
if  the  stories  that  its  conquerors  told  are  only  half  true  they 
sheltered  an  accumulation  of  riches  whose  value  is  beyond 
computation. 

There  is  very  little  of  interest  to  the  modern  traveler  out- 
side these  ruins,  and  the  ecclesiastical  edifices  which  the  Span- 
iards erected  upon  them,  and  with  the  money  plunder  they 
contained.  The  market  place,  particularly  on  Sunday  morn- 
ing, is  attractive  to  those  who  are  unfamiliar  with  the  manners 
and  customs  of  the  Indians  of  the  Andean  basin,  but  they 
are  a  sullen,  reticent  race,  and  lack  the  dramatic  and  pictur- 
esque characteristics  that  make  the  Amayra  Indians  of  Bolivia 
so  entertaining.  There  are  several  Americans  living  in  Cuzco, 
two  protestant  missionaries,  a  dentist,  a  miner  or  two,  and 
the  men  who  are  building  a  stage  road  to  connect  with  the 
railway.  The  antiquated  architecture  and  the  purity  of  the 
climate  make  Cuzco  a  fascinating  field  for  the  amateur  pho- 
tographer, but  few  strangers  are  willing  to  spend  the  time 
and  patience  required  to  reach  that  isolated  place.     The  hotel 


CUZCO,    THE   CAPITAL  OF  THE   INCAS        259 

is  very  bad,  as  bad  as  any  one  can  find  in  South  America, 
which  is  doubtless  due  to  its  limited  patronage,  but  the  pro- 
prietor endeavors  to  propitiate  his  guests  by  cordial  atten- 
tions. 

The  railway  runs  east-north  from  Juliaca  122  miles  to  a 
town  called  Sicuani.  There  a  cart  roacT  begins  which  was 
built  by  Mr.  Patrick  Hawley,  an  enterprising  Irish- American, 
and  continues  a  distance  of  eighty-seven  miles  to  within  fifteen 
miles  of  Cuzco.  He  has  recently  imported  from  the  States 
two  comfortable  and  handsome  Concord  stages,  which  run 
twice  a  week,  making  a  journey  in  two  days. 

From  the  terminus  of  the  present  highway  the  traveler 
must  ride  into  the  City  of  the  Sun  on  muleback  over  a  horrible 
trail.  But  when  the  road  is  done  this  will  be  unnecessary, 
and  the  entire  journey  will  be  made  by  stage.  Until  Mr. 
Hawley  undertook  this  enterprise  no  wheeled  vehicle  was  ever 
able  to  enter  the  valley  of  Cuzco,  and  every  article  that  came 
in  and  went  out  had  to  be  carried  on  the  back  of  a  llama  or  a 
mule  over  a  mountain  trail  that  was  almost  impassable. 

The  Incas  had  a  system  of  highways  which  Dr.  Tschudi, 
the  famous  Austrian  archaeologist,  declared  "even  in  the  exist- 
ing state  of  our  knowledge,  and  with  modern  instruments 
of  labor,  would  be  deemed  worthy  of  the  most  civilized  nation 
now  on  the  globe."  "Of  all  the  ancient  monuments  whose 
ruins  invite  our  attention,"  he  says,  "there  are  none  which 
by  their  astonishing  character,  their  immense  extent  and 
the  seemingly  impossible  labor  which  their  construction 
demanded,  impress  us  more  profoundly  than  the  royal  roads 
which  traversed  the  entire  empire  from  north  to  south." 
Pedro  Cieca  de  Leon,  one  of  the  earliest  writers,  compares 
them  to  those  which  Hannibal  made  over  the  Alps,  and  says 
"the  caciques  and  princes  caused  a  road  to  be  built  fifteen  feet 
broad,  on  each  side  of  which  was  a  very  strong  wall  more  than 
a  fathom  in  thickness,  while  the  road  was  very  clear  and 
smooth  and  shaded  by  trees. ' '  Lopez  de  Gomarra,  another  of 
the  conquistadores,  writes  that  "the  royal  roads  from  the  city 
of  Cuzco  were  a  very  costly  and  noble  work,  cut  in  some  places 
from  the  living  rock  and  in  others  made  of  stone  and  lime,  for 


:26o    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

indeed  it  was  necessary  to  cut  away  the  mountains  and  fill  up 
the  valleys  in  order  to  bring  the  road  to  a  level.  It  was  a 
work  which,  as  all  agree,  exceeded  the  Pyramids  of  Egypt  and 
the  paved  ways  of  the  Romans,  and,  indeed,  all  other  ancient 
works.  These  roads  went  in  a  direct  line,  without  turning 
aside  for  hills  or  mountains,  or  even  lakes. '  * 

Pedro  Cieca  de  Leon,  writing  in  the  seventh  century,  said : 
*'The  caciques  and  princes,  by  the  Inca's  command,  caused  a 
road  to  be  made  twenty-five  feet  broad,  on  each  side  of  which 
was  a  very  strong  wall  more  than  a  fathom  in  thickness,  while 
the  road  was  perfectly  clear  and  smooth,  and  shaded  by  trees ; 
and  from  these  generally  hung  over  the  road  branches  loaded 
with  fruit,  while  the  trees  were  filled  with  parrots  and  various 
other  birds.  In  each  one  of  the  valleys  there  were  built  grand 
and  pricely  lodging  places  for  the  Incas,  and  depositories  for 
supplies  of  the  army.  Along  this  road  the  sidewalk  extended 
from  one  place  to  another,  except  in  those  spots  where,  from 
the  quantity  of  sand,  the  Indians  were  not  able  to  lay  solidly 
in  cement ;  and  at  such  places,  that  the  way  might  not  be  lost, 
they  drove  into  the  ground  large  trees  properly  fitted  after  the 
manner  of  beams,  at  regular  intervals ;  and  thus  they  took  care 
to  make  the  road  smooth  and  clear  over  the  valleys.  They 
renewed  the  walls  whenever  they  became  ruined  or  injured, 
and  perpetual  watch  was  kept  to  see  if  any  large  trees,  of 
those  in  the  sandy  places,  were  overturned  by  the  wind,  in 
which  case  it  was  immediately  replaced. '  * 

Lopez  de  Gomarra  says:  '* There  were  two  royal  roads  from 
the  city  of  Quito  to  that  of  Cuzco,  very  costly  and  noble 
works.  The  one  over  the  mountains  and  the  other  across  the 
plains,  each  extending  more  than  a  thousand  miles.  That 
which  crossed  the  plains  was  walled  on  both  sides,  and  was 
twenty-five  feet  broad,  with  ditches  of  water  outside,  and  was 
planted  with  trees  called  nolle.  That  which  was  on  the 
mountains  was  also  twenty-five  feet  wide,  cut  in  some  places 
from  the  living  rock,  and  in  others  made  of  stone  and  lime, 
for,  indeed,  it  was  necessary  to  cut  away  the  rocks  or  fill  up 
the  valleys  to  bring  the  road  to  a  level.  It  was  a  work,  which, 
as  all  agree,  exceeded  the  pyramids  of  Egypt  and  the  paved 


.«yr-^^^aiy^-. 


J-iui'inJ      T^nntiMyv     n-f    //i^       J,,r, 


^  OF  THB        "K 

"CTNIVERSITT 


CUZCO,    THE   CAPITAL   OF  THE   INCAS       261 

ways  of  the  Romans,  and,  indeed,  all  other  ancient  works. 
Guaynacapac  restored,  enlarged  and  completed  them ;  but  he 
did  not  build  them  entirely  as  some  pretend,  nor  could  they 
have  been  constructed  in  the  whole  time  of  his  life.  These 
roads  went  in  a  direct  line,  without  turning  aside  for  hills, 
mountains,  or  even  lakes;  and  for  resting  places  they  had 
certaid  grand  palaces  which  were  called  "tambos,"  where  the 
court  and  the  royal  army  lodged.  These  were  provided  with 
arms,  food,  shoes  and  clothing  for  the  troops.  The  Spaniards 
in  their  civil  wars  destroyed  these  roads,  breaking  them  up  in 
many  places  to  impede  the  march  of  each  other;  and  the 
Indians  themselves  demolished  a  part  of  them  when  they 
waged  war,  and  layed  siege  to  the  cities  of  Cuzco  and  Lima, 
where  the  Spaniards  were. ' ' 

But  nearly  all  these  wonderful  highways  were  destroyed 
by  the  Spaniards,  sometimes  to  prevent  the  Incas  from  fol- 
lowing them  and  often  from  sheer  wantonness.  The  In- 
dians themselves  demolished  many  of  the  embankments  in 
order  to  impede  the  movements  of  the  invaders,  and  time  and 
neglect  have  done  the  rest,  for  the  Spaniards  never  repair 
anything.  Every  monument,  every  public  work  they  captured 
from  the  Incas  was  allowed  to  decay,  and  since  their  inde- 
pendence the  Peruvians  have  been  even  more  destructive  and 
neglectful.  When  they  entered  the  country  the  Spaniards 
found  a  civilization  that  was  almost  as  advanced  as  their  own, 
but  so  greedy  and  so  avaricious  were  they  that  almost  every 
temple  and  every  palace  was  torn  down  in  their  search  for 
treasure,  and  almost  every  stone  was  turned  over  in  the  hope 
that  a  jewel  might  be  concealed  under  it. 

There  is  likely  to  be  a  Klondike  excitement  on  a  limited 
scale  in  this  part  of  Peru  if  the  San  Domingo  gold  mine  turns 
out  to  be  as  rich  as  expected.  It  is  owned  by  the  Inca  Mining 
Company,  an  American  corporation,  composed  chiefly  of  oil 
operators  of  Bradford,  Pa.  Mr.  Charles  P.  Collins  of  that 
State  is  the  largest  stockholder,  and  the  manager  here  is 
Chester  W.  Brown,  of  Cleveland.  An  enormous  amount  a. 
money  has  been  spent  in  the  development  of  the  property,  and 
the  owners  are  confident  that  it  will  prove  to  be  the  most 


262    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

profitable  gold  mine  ever  discovered,  surpassing  even  El 
Callao  of  Venezuela,  the  Treadwell  of  Alaska,  and  other 
famous  deposits. 

During  1898  and  1899  the  managers  were  able  to  take  out 
large  amounts  of  ore  by  the  primitive  processes  of  the  Indians, 
and  since  their  machinery  has  been  in  place  the  output  has 
been  increased  nearly  fourfold.  Part  of  the  ore  is  sent  to 
Europe  in  bags,  part  is  reduced  on  the  ground,  and  the  bars 
are  shipped  to  the  mint  in  Lima  for  coinage.  The  great  draw- 
backs have  been  the  inaccessibility  of  the  location  and  the 
difficulty  of  getting  labor.  Manager  Brown  sent  to  California, 
Nevada,  Arizona  and  Colorado  for  white  American  miners, 
as  the  Indians  are  not  only  inefficient  and  intractable,  but  will 
not  work  regularly.  As  it  usually  requires  two  or  three 
days  for  the  Indians  to  recover  from  the  effects  of  a  holiday, 
the  managers  came  to  the  conclusion  that  they  must  import 
competent  and  intelligent  labor. 

Furthermore,  in  the  em^ployment  of  natives  they  are  entirely 
at  the  mercy  of  the  local  officials,  who  have  organized  a  sort  of 
padrone  system  among  the  Indians.  When  a  miner,  a  hacien- 
dado,  a  railway  manager  or  an  employer  of  any  kind  wants  a 
gang  of  men  he  is  compelled  to  go  to  the  prefect  of  the  nearest 
town,  who  will  furnish  as  many  as  are  wanted  at  the  rate  of 
$1  a  head  per  month  as  long  as  they  are  employed.  He 
becomes  responsible  for  their  good  behavior  and  agrees  to 
make  them  work  full  hours,  according  to  the  "custumbre  de 
la  pais."  Those  words,  which  mean  literally  *'the  custom  of 
the  country, "  have  a  wide  significance,  to  which  the  native 
employer  is  accustomed  by  experience,  but  it  is  exasperating 
to  a  man  who  has  been  accustomed  to  do  business  in  North 
America.  Furthermore,  if  the  prefect  is  not  well  looked  after 
he  decides  every  dispute  in  favor  of  the  Indians  and  gives 
them  the  benefit  of  every  doubt. 

The  natives  in  many  respects  resemble  the  colored  people 
in  our  southern  states.  They  have  no  idea  of  the  value  of 
money  and  work  for  small  wages,  an  average  of  60  cents  a  day 
in  depreciated  silver,  but  when  they  get  a  few  dollars  ahead 
they  quit  and  loaf  until  it  is  expended.     During  this  time  they 


A  Peruvian  Caballito,  Canoe  of  Straw. 


CUZCO,    THE   CAPITAL   OF  THE   INCAS        263 

pretend  to  be  sick,  and  the  prefect  usually  accepts  the  excuse 
on  the  theory  that  it  increases  the  prosperity  of  his  town  to 
have  the  Indians  come  in  and  spend  their  money  for  liquor. 

The  San  Domingo  mine  is  situated  near  a  little  town  that 
bears  the  appropriate  name  of  Perdition,  over  the  Cordilleras 
on  the  Atlantic  slope  of  Peru,  near  the  Bolivian  boundary,  and 
until  recently  it  could  only  be  reached  by  a  trail  150  miles  long 
through  a  trackless  wilderness  from  Tirapata  station  on  the 
Cuzco  branch  of  the  Southern  Railway  of  Peru. 

Prospectors  who  desire  to  go  into  the  San  Domingo  country 
must  go  down  the  west  coast  of  South  America  as  far  as 
Mollendo,  where  they  take  the  Southern  Railroad  for  the 
interior.  At  the  town  of  Juliaca  they  change  cars  for  the 
Cuzco  branch  and  leave  the  train  at  Tirapata,  which  is  a  little 
station  12,780  feet  above  the  sea.  There  they  can  get  a  mule 
either  by  hire  or  purchase  for  the  rest  of  the  journey.  The 
trail  crosses  the  main  range  of  the  Andes  at  an  elevation  of 
18,000  feet,  and  descends  rapidly  into  the  timbered  slope  that 
conceals  the  head  waters  of  the  Amazon.  For  two  years  the 
Inca  Mining  Company  had  400  men  employed  in  building  a 
cart  road  to  the  railway,  so  that  the  company  has  been  able  to 
haul  in  machinery  for  a  twenty-stamp  mill.  Until  the  road 
was  built  everything  was  carried  in  and  out  on  mule  back,  and 
when  the  Americans  first  bought  the  mine  it  could  only  be 
reached  on  foot. 

In  addition  to  the  stamp  mill  the  company  has  a  sawmill  in 
operation,  and  has  established  quite  a  colony,  including  thirty 
or  forty  American  miners.  They  now  have  a  cattle  ranch,  a 
vegetable  garden,  and  the  little  community  has  become  self- 
supporting. 

The  vein  was  exposed  by  a  landslide  several  years  ago,  and 
was  discovered  by  an  Indian  cattle  herder,  who  brought  sam- 
ples of  the  ore  to  his  employer,  a  Mr.  Velasco,  and  sold  him 
the  claim  for  ten  cows.  Velasco  worked  it  in  a  feeble  way  for 
awhile,  and  then  sold  it  for  $250,000  to  a  California  miner 
named  Harbison,  who  happened  to  be  traveling  down  this 
way  as  an  agent  for  the  Standard  Oil  Company.  Harbison 
interested  Collins  and  other  friends  at  Bradford  in  the  prop- 


264   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

erty,  and  sent  down  his  nephew,  Chester  W.  Brown,  to  take 
charge. 

There  are  plenty  of  mines  in  that  country  of  all  kinds  of 
metals,  but  the  lack  of  roads  and  transportation  facilities,  the 
difficulties  in  securing  labor  such  as  I  have  described,  the 
exactions  of  the  petty  officials  in  the  interior  who  are  so  far 
away  from  the  headquarters  of  the  government  that  they  are 
practically  independent  and  exercise  a  despotic  power  over  the 
people,  as  well  as  the  severity  of  the  climate,  compel  northern 
miners  to  earn  the  full  value  of  every  dollar  they  get  out. 
There  are  only  two  smelters  in  Peru.  One  of  them  is  at  the 
town  of  Casapalca  on  the  Oroya  road,  and  the  other  is  at 
Maravillas,  on  the  southern  road,  which  are  operated  at  a 
great  expense,  because  coal  costs  from  $20  to  $25  gold  a  ton, 
and  is  brought  from  Chile,  England  and  Australia.  There  are 
large  coal  deposits  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Titicaca,  and  during 
the  war  with  Chile  the  steamboats  and  the  railways  of  the 
interior  were  entirely  dependent  upon  them  for  fuel.  But  they 
have  never  been  developed  on  account  of  the  indifference  of 
the  owners  and  the  difficulties  I  have  described.  The  coal  is 
an  excellent  quality  of  bituminous,  and  improves  as  the  shaft 
is  deepened. 

Near  the  little  station  of  Maravillas,  which  means  "mar- 
velous," on  the  Southern  Railway,  there  is  a  mountain  of 
which  the  most  extraordinary  stories  are  told.  It  is  claimed 
to  be  a  solid  mass  of  ores  of  all  varieties  indiscriminately 
mixed,  and  as  one  citizen  declared,  "all  you  have  to  do  is  to 
blindfold  your  eyes,  turn  around  three  times,  "'throw  a  little 
salt  over  your  left  shoulder,  then  begin  to  dig  where  your 
spade  strikes  and  you  can  get  any  kind  of  ore  you  want — gold, 
silver,  copper,  lead,  tin,  antimony  or  anything  else — and  it  lies 
right  on  the  surface  like  gravel."  The  fact  that  this  extraor- 
dinary mineralogical  phenomenon  has  not  been  utilized,  how- 
ever, rather  detracts  from  the  interest  of  the  story. 


XVIII 
FROM  LAKE  TITICACA  TO  LA  PAZ 

The  eastern  boundary  of  Lake  Titicaca  is  formed  by  a 
colonnade  of  the  loftiest  mountains  of  the  American  continent, 
and  the  greatest  continuous  snow  range  in  the  world.  The 
highest  peaks  exceed  20,000  feet — namely,  Illimani,  Mururata, 
Samaja,  Huana-Potosi,  Illampu,  Sorataand  Sunchuli.  Illampu 
disputes  with  Aconcuagua  the  honor  of  being  the  highest  peak 
in  America,  and,  with  the  exception  of  Mount  Everest,  the 
highest  in  the  world.  The  estimates  and  measurements  of 
observers  differ,  and  vary  from  23,000  to  27,000  feet.  But  it 
is  probably  somewhere  near  24,000.  Illimani  has  an  altitude 
almost  as  great,  and  the  majestic  Sajama  reaches  more  than 
23,000.  Nowhere  else  within  human  vision  can  such  a  bat- 
talion of  monsters  be  seen,  and  the  beauty  of  their  outlines  on 
a  bright,  sunny  day  is  beyond  verbal  description.  They 
remind  one  of  a  procession  of  mighty  icebergs,  moving  with 
majestic  dignity  behind  a  screen  that  is  formed  by  the  inter- 
vening foothills. 

The  slopes  that  lead  to  the  lake  are  nearly  all  cultivated, 
and  are  cut  up  into  little  fields  like  a  crazy  quilt.  As  every- 
thing is  reversed  in  this  latitude,  the  northern  slopes  are  the 
most  fertile  and  the  most  productive,  just  as  the  northern  sun 
is  the  warmest  of  the  day,  for  you  must  remember  that  we  are 
south  of  the  equator.  The  water  is  intensely  cold,  and  people 
who  fall  into  it  are  certain  to  be  paralyzed  or  seized  with 
cramps  because  of  the  temperature  unless  they  are  imme- 
diately rescued. 

In  the  center  the  lake  seems  bottomless.  Chief  Engineer 
Creighton  of  the  steamer  Coya  told  me  that  they  had  dropped 
a  lead  354  fathoms  near  the  island  of  Titicaca  without  finding 

265 


266    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

a  bottom,  and  that  is  1,770  feet.  Professor  Agassiz  made  more 
than  500  soundings  during  his  explorations,  and  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  waters  now  occupy  what  was  once  the 
crater  of  a  mighty  volcano,  which  in  the  center  is  still  open  to 
the  center  of  the  earth. 

A  curious  phenomenon  is  that  metal  never  rusts  in  the 
waters  of  Lake  Titicaca.  You  can  throw  in  a  chain  or  an 
anchor  or  any  article  of  ordinary  iron  and  let  it  lie  for  weeks, 
and  when  you  haul  it  up  it  will  be  as  clean  and  bright  as  when 
it  came  from  the  foundry.  And,  what  is  stranger  still,  rust 
that  has  been  formed  upon  metallic  objects  elsewhere  will  peel 
off  when  immersed  in  its  waters.  This  is  frequently  noticed 
by  railway  and  steamship  men.  Rusty  car  wheels  and  rails, 
and  even  machinery,  can  be  brightened  by  soaking  them  in  the 
waters  of  Lake  Titicaca. 

The  shallow  bays  and  inlets  of  the  lake  show  a  film  of  ice 
almost  every  morning  of  the  year,  although  at  noonday  the  sun 
is  very  hot.  The  difference  in  temperature  at  2  o'clock  in  the 
day  and  2  at  night  is  often  65  degrees,  and  will  average  50 
degrees  for  the  entire  year.  Nevertheless,  there  is  no  means 
of  heating  the  houses,  and  the  natives  believe  that  artificial 
heat  is  unhealthy.  The  cold  is  not  felt  so  much  as  in  lower 
altitudes. 

Near  the  port  of  Puno,  the  metropolis  of  the  lake,  a  com- 
monplace Spanish-American  town,  which  has  a  large  commerce 
in  wool  and  ores,  and  is  the  terminus  of  the  railway,  lies  the 
island  Estaban,  upon  which  Prof.  James  Orton,  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Ohio,  lies  buried.  Professor  Orton  was  a  distinguished 
naturalist  and  ethnologist,  and  spent  several  years  in  the 
exploration  of  the  Andean  ranges.  He  twice  crossed  the  con- 
tinent from  the  Pacific  to  the  waters  of  the  Amazon,  once 
through  Ecuador  and  again  through  Peru,  and  the  last  years 
of  his  life  were  spent  in  archaeological  investigations  among 
the  Inca  ruins  upon  the  shores  of  Lake  Titicaca.  He  died  of 
dysentery  in  a  small  sailboat  which  he  had  chartered  to  bring 
his  collections  for  shipment  at  Puno,  and  his  body  was  laid  on 
Isle  Estaban,  because,  being  a  protestant,  he  was  denied 
interment  in  the  regular  burying  grounds.     He  has  the  com- 


FROM   LAKE   TITICACA  TO   LA  PAZ  267 

pany  of  three  Englishmen  and  a  German,  who  were  also  buried 
there  for  the  same  reason. 

Tacilla  Island  is  the  penal  colony  of  Peru,  and  large  bar- 
racks have  been  erected  by  the  government  for  the  entertain- 
ment of  political  prisoners.  It  is  said  that  a  number  of 
gentlemen  who  now  have  the  honor  of  holding  office  at  Lima 
have  spent  more  or  less  time  at  Tacilla  while  their  political 
enemies  were  in  power. 

Near  by  are  two  smaller  islands  which  are  peculiar  because 
of  the  fact  that  one  is  covered  with  black  gravel  and  bowlders, 
and  the  other  with  white  gravel  and  bowlders.  They  lie  so 
close  together  that  it  is  possible  for  a  man  to  throw  a  stone 
from  one  to  the  other,  and  their  geological  formation  is  exactly 
similar,  but  strangely  enough  not  a  white  stone  can  be  found 
upon  one  and  not  a  black  stone  upon  the  other. 

The  greatest  interest,  however,  centers  in  the  island  of 
Titicaca,  which  is  at  once  the  Eden  and  the  Nazareth  of  the 
Inca  traditions.  There  fell  the  first  rays  of  the  sun  to  illum- 
inate and  revivify  the  world  after  the  deluge,  and  there 
appeared  the  Adam  and  the  Eve  of  the  Inca  dynasty,  the 
Children  of  the  Sun,  to  redeem  and  regenerate  the  barbarians 
they  found  in  this  great  region.  It  was  somewhere  about  the 
seventh  century  of  the  Christian  era  that  a  man  and  a  woman 
appeared  one  morning  in  the  presence  of  the  astonished 
natives  on  the  island  of  Titicaca,  and  informed  them  that  they 
had  been  sent  by  the  great  Creator,  the  father  and  ruler  of  all 
things,  who  inhabited  the  sun,  to  lead  them  into  a  better  life, 
to  teach  them  the  knowledge  of  useful  things,  and  improve 
their  condition.  Previous  to  the  arrival  of  these  missionaries 
the  Peruvians  were  divided  into  rude  and  warlike  tribes,  igno- 
rant of  all  industry  and  culture,  knowing  no  law  and  no  morals. 

In  some  of  the  surrounding  tribes  in  Bolivia  and  on  the  sea 
coast  of  Peru  there  was  a  certain  degree  of  civilization,  and 
the  evidences  of  their  progress  are  found  in  ruins  that  are 
scattered  over  the  land,  some  of  which  must  date  back  as 
far  as  the  Christian  era.  Indeed,  certain  archaeologists  who 
have  spent  years  in  exploration  here  assert  that  there  were 
four  distinct  races  and  historic  periods  antedating  the  begin- 


268   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

ning  of  the  Inca  dynasty,  all  of  which  reached  an  advanced 
state  of  civilization  compared  with  that  of  the  Indians  of  North 
America  and  the  tribes  that  surrounded  them.  Indeed,  in 
their  architecture,  their  religion,  their  knowledge  of  agricul- 
ture, irrigation,  roadmaking  and  other  sciences,  they  equaled, 
if  they  did  not  surpass,  the  races  of  northern  Europe  at  the 
same  period. 

According  to  the  story,  when  the  Merciful  Father,  the  Sun, 
sent  his  favorite  children  to  redeem  the  Indians  of  the  Andean 
basin,  he  gave  them  a  rod  of  gold,  which  they  were  to  drive 
into  the  ground  wherever  they  stopped,  and  whenever  they 
reached  a  spot  where  it  entered  the  earth  without  pressure 
there  they  were  to  remain  and  erect  a  city,  organize  a  govern- 
ment and  establish  a  court. 

From  the  ridge  of  Huanancauri  these  Children  of  the  Sun 
started  northward,  gathering  the  people  around  them  in  great 
multitudes  to  receive  as  gifts  from  heaven  the  counsel  and 
instruction  which  they  brought  by  order  of  the  Supreme 
Being,  their  Father,  until  they  reached  the  present  location  of 
the  city  of  Cuzco,  where  the  rod  disappeared  and  they  founded 
their  capital.  Manco  Capac  taught  the  men  agriculture, 
industry  and  the  useful  arts.  He  established  a  social  and 
political  union  among  all  the  wandering  tribes,  convinced 
them  of  the  blessings  of  peace,  combined  their  forces,  inspired 
them  with  ambition,  and  by  adequate  laws  gave  them  a  whole- 
some and  enduring  happiness  and  a  prosperity  which  has 
never  since  been  enjoyed  in  Peru.  Mama  Oclla  taught  the 
women  the  domestic  arts  and  virtues,  grace,  chastity  and  cul- 
ture, and  from  her  and  Manco  Capac  sprung  the  dynasty  of 
the  Incas,  which  lasted  nearly  i,ooo  years,  and  exercised 
authority  equal  that  of  the  most  powerful  monarch  in  the 
world.  To  their  autocracy  was  allied  a  tender  affection  for 
their  subjects,  a  genuine  anxiety  for  the  good  of  the  people, 
and  an  unselfish  desire  to  enable  the  barbarous  nations  which 
they  conquered  to  participate  in  the  advantages  of  civilization. 

There  are,  of  course,  many  theories  to  account  for  the 
miraculous  appearance  of  these  benefactors  and  redeemers  of 
the  Peruvian  race,  and  the  early  explorers  of  Peru,  like  those 


FROM   LAKE   TITICACA  TO   LA   PAZ  269 

of  Mexico  and  Central  America,  were  strongly  of  the  opinion 
that  Manco  Capac,  like  Montezuma,  was  a  Buddhist  priest  who 
somehow  had  crossed  the  Pacific,  and  by  means  of  his  superior 
learning  and  abilities  was  able  to  control  the  minds  of  the 
natives  and  elevate  himself  to  political  supremacy.  The 
Scandinavians  claimed  that  fair-haired  Norsemen  invaded  and 
conquered  the  southern  as  well  as  the  northern  continent,  and 
a  learned  rabbi,  Manasseh  Ben  Israel,  in  a  celebrated  work, 
which  was  published  in  Amsterdam  in  1650,  made  it  very  clear 
that  Manco  Capac  was  a  Jew,  whom  Salmanezer,  the  king  of 
Assyria,  carried  away  captive  from  Jerusalem.  According  to 
Cabrera,  a  learned  Moorish  writer,  the  founders  of  the  Peru- 
vian dynasty  were  Carthagenians  who  crossed  the  ocean  in 
search  of  adventure,  and  a  pious  writer  made  an  ingenious 
argument  to  prove  that  Manco  Capac  was  identical  with  the 
apostle  St.  Thomas.  Marco  Polo  declares  that  the  first  Inca 
of  Peru  was  the  son  of  Kublai  Khan,  and  Baron  von  Humboldt 
joined  the  long  procession  of  theorists  to  prove  that  the  Peru- 
vians obtained  their  education  from  the  Huns. 

There  are  remarkable  analogies  between  the  religion  of  the 
Incas  and  Buddhism,  and  in  the  interior  of  Thibet,  where  the 
purest  Buddhism  predominates,  are  usages  which  resemble  the 
practices  of  the  Amayra  Indians  in  a  most  remarkable  manner. 
Similar  analogies  are  found  in  a  comparative  study  of  the 
Christian  religion ;  but  whatever  the  origin  of  the  Children  of 
the  Siin  may  have  been  it  is  certain  that  Manco  Capac  and  his 
sister  laid  the  foundations  of  a  public  happiness  and  a  material 
prosperity  of  which  for  four  centuries  their  descendants  have 
been  deprived.  It  is  equally  true  that  the  invaders  of  the 
country  disturbed  a  peace,  destroyed  a  culture  and  overthrew 
a  government  whose  aspirations  and  ideals  were  beyond  the 
conception  of  Pizarro  and  the  cut-throats  that  followed  him 
from  Spain. 

The  island  of  Titicaca,  famous  as  the  birthplace  of  the  old- 
est civilization  in  America,  is  now  the  property  of  Mr.  Miguel 
Garces  of  Puno,  who  has  a  handsome  hacienda  there.  A  vil- 
lage of  700  or  800  Indians  are  living  in  mud  huts,  and  raising 
wheat,  barley  and  potatoes  among  the  ruins  of  an  age  and  a 


2^o   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

culture  which  the  archaeologists  of  modern  times  have  found 
a  most  fascinating  problem.  The  island  lies  a  mile  or  so  from 
the  main  shore,  from  which  it  is  separated  by  a  bottomless 
channel.  The  nearest  port  is  the  little  town  of  Calle.  There 
is  no  communication  except  by  balsas,  the  curious  craft  which 
are  older  than  history  and  were  used  by  the  Incas,  as  they  are 
used  by  the  Indians  to-day,  for  transportation.  They  are  built 
of  barley  straw,  tied  together  in  bunches,  and  then  bound  by 
wisps  in  the  shape  of.  a  catamaran. 

The  body  of  the  balsa  is  three  or  four  feet  in  thickness. 
The  ends  are  turned  up  in  a  rather  artistic  manner  and  orna- 
mented with  considerable  taste.  They  are  very  light,  and  one 
of  the  largest  size  can  easily  be  lifted  by  two  men,  but  they 
are  so  buoyant  that  two  or  three  tons  of  freight  can  be  easily 
transported  by  them,  and  as  many  passengers  as  can  find 
room  aboard.  The  Indians  navigate  them  both  with  oars  and 
with  large  sails  made  of  woven  straw  in  a  curious  and  ingen- 
ious manner.  On  the  coast  of  Ecuador  and  Peru  the  balsas 
are  made  of  a  porous  timber  almost  as  light  as  cork,  but  there 
is  no  timber  of  any  kind  in  the  Andean  basin  except  a  few 
stunted  pines  that  grow  in  a  most  unaccountable  manner 
among  the  rocks. 

A  caballito  is  a  small  balsa  or  canoe  made  of  straw,  which 
is  propelled  by  paddles,  and  the  navigator,  sitting  astride  his 
craft,  sends  it  across  the  water  with  great  skill  and  speed. 
These  cabillitos  were  used  in  the  days  of  the  Inca  empire  for 
the  transportation  of  couriers  along  the  lake.  The  balsas  are 
the  best  of  lifeboats,  because  it  is  impossible  to  sink  or  even 
overturn  them,  although  they  are  so  light  as  to  be  affected  by 
every  motion  of  the  water,  and  persons  unaccustomed  to  using 
them  become  seasick  in  a  moderate  breeze. 

The  Indians  who  inhabit  the  island  are  usually  docile, 
industrious  and  are  compelled  to  wring  a  scanty  living  from 
the  unwilling  soil,  except  upon  the  northern  slope,  where  the 
wheat,  barley  and  potatoes  and  a  few  vegetables  feel  the 
warmth  of  the  noonday  sun  more  than  upon  the  other  slopes. 
There  is  a  little  chapel,  attended  by  a  native  priest,  and  the 
Indians  are  very  assiduous  in  their  religious  duties,  although 


Balsas,  Lake   Titicaca. 


FROM   LAKE   TITICACA  TO   LA   PAZ  271 

they  still  retain  many  of  the  rites  of  their  aboriginal  re- 
ligion. 

The  ruins  of  palaces  and  temples  which  formerly  covered 
this  sacred  place  have  been  the  object  of  investigation  by  arch- 
aeologists for  several  centuries — ever  since  they  were  destroyed 
by  the  Spanish  invaders — and  much  of  the  material  used  in 
their  construction,  which  was  sandstone  cut  in  the  neighboring 
mountains  and  brought  across  the  land  and  water  with  infinite 
patience  and  labor,  has  been  carried  away  for  building  pur- 
poses both  upon  the  island  and  the  mainland.  It  is  remarkable 
that  even  one  stone  has  been  left  upon  another  during  the  360 
years  since  the  Spanish  conquistadores  invaded  the  peaceful 
precincts  of  the  place,  for  they  destroyed  everything  they  laid 
their  hands  upon,  and  during  the  last  century  archaeological 
explorers  in  searching  out  the  secrets  of  the  extinct  civiliza- 
tion have  made  extensive  excavations  and  overturned  nearly 
everything  that  the  Spaniards  left. 

If  we  are  to  believe  one-half  of  the  reports  that  were  made 
by  the  knights  and  chroniclers  that  accompanied  Pizarro  the 
temples  and  palaces  were  of  an  extensive  and  sumptuous 
character.  To  the  Incas  the  island  was  a  sacred  place.  It 
was  the  seat  of  the  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction,  the  residence  of 
the  exalted  prelates  and  priests,  who  spent  their  lives  in 
worship  and  in  the  observance  of  ceremonials  which  have  been 
described  in  the  most  elaborate  manner  by  early  Spanish 
writers.  The  temples  and  palaces  and  monasteries  were  built 
of  carved  stone.  The  quarries  from  which  it  came  and  the 
method  by  which  it  was  brought  are  still  unknown,  although 
scientific  research  has  '  demonstrated  that  the  Incas  had  no 
means  of  transportation  on  land  except  the  llama,  and  none 
upon  the  water  except  the  balsa.  It  is  believed,  however, 
that  the  material  for  their  buildings  was  moved  from  the  quar- 
ries to  the  shores  of  the  lake  upon  rollers  and  there  trans- 
ferred to  the  primitive  boats,  by  which  it  was  carried  across 
the  channel,  and  then  transported  up  the  steep  hillsides  to  the 
central  summits  of  the  island  by  manual  labor,  for  the  Span- 
iards learned  that  thousands  of  Indians  were  detailed  annually 
for  employment  upon  the  public  works  of  the  government. 


aya   BETWEEN  THE  ANDES  AND  THE   OCEAN 

When  the  Spaniards  came  these  buildings  were  filled  with 
valuable  accumulations  of  gold  and  silver  for  both  ornamental 
and  useful  purposes.  The  walls  were  covered  with  beaten 
sheets  of  gold,  and  the  altars  of  the  idols  were  adorned  with 
objects  and  vessels  of  the  same  metals  ingeniously  hammered 
into  shapes  by  the  primitive  processes  of  that  period.  Tapes- 
tries woven  of  vicuna  wool  in  unique  and  fanciful  designs 
added  beauty  to  the  interiors,  and  upon  the  floors  were  spread 
the  skins  of  wild  beasts  found  in  the  forests  upon  the  eastern 
slopes  of  the  Andes.  Millions  of  dollars*  worth  of  treasure 
was  carried  away  by  the  invaders,  who  after  a  few  months  left 
the  splendid  edifices  roofless  and  dismantled. 

The  emperor,  or  the  Inca,  as  he  was  called,  is  supposed  to 
have  spent  a  certain  portion  of  each  year  in  a  palace  that  was 
adorned  and  reserved  for  his  use,  and  the  remains  that  still 
exist  indicate  the  extent  and  the  grandeur  of  the  buildings  he 
occupied,  although  the  scientists  say  that  viewed  externally 
they  did  not  present  as  imposing  an  aspect  nor  show  so  high  a 
degree  of  architectural  skill  as  those  of  Yucatan.  The  walls 
were  admirable  for  the  skill  of  their  construction,  but  they 
lacked  columns,  cornices  and  other  architectural  embellish- 
ments which  are  found  in  similar  structures  in  Central  Amer- 
ica. The  internal  arrangements  offer  a  greater  complication 
of  detail  and  more  interest.  There  were  several  large  salons 
that  were  probably  used  as  audience  chambers  by  the  mon- 
archs  and  the  priests  and  for  purposes  of  courtly  ceremonials 
and  religious  worship,  but  most  of  them  had  but  one  door, 
opening  into  the  courts  that  surrounded  them.  The  walls 
were  often  carved  with  hieroglyphics  commemorating  events 
in  the  history  of  the  nation,  which  were  admirably  executed, 
and  some  of  them  have  been  deciphered  by  modern  skill.  It 
is  asserted  that  the  massive  walls  of  these  apartments,  the 
ceilings  and  even  the  floors,  were  covered  with  plates  of  gold, 
which  was  the  principal  cause  of  their  destruction.  In  others 
the  floors  were  adorned  with  pavements  of  marble  of  different 
colors,  like  moasic  work,  and  in  the  niches  the  Spaniards  found 
statues  of  gold  and  silver  representing  gods  and  all  sorts  of 
animals  and  insects. 


I 


FROM   LAKE  TITICACA   TO   LA   PAZ  273 

The  monasteries  were  also  large  edifices  containing  similar 
apartments  and  innumerable  small  rooms,  which  were  doubt- 
less occupied  by  the  priests  and  their  attendants,  and  some  of 
them  were  spacious  enough  to  furnish  accommodations  for 
1,000  persons. 

Among  the  best  preserved  of  the  ruins  are  the  royal  baths, 
which  were  as  sumptuous  as  those  of  Italy  or  Greece  at  a  sim- 
ilar period,  and  their  exposure  has  suggested  that  there  must 
have  been  a  change  in  the  climate  since  the  time  of  the  Incas, 
or  else  the  aborigines  were  a  much  more  enduring  race  than 
their  posterity.  The  baths  were  built  of  carved  marble.  The 
bottoms  were  carefully  covered  with  a  mixture  of  small  stones 
and  a  species  of  cement,  and  the  water  was  received  through 
golden  figures  of  animals,  lions,  tigers,  eagles,  condors  or 
snakes,  either  carved  in  marble  or  wrought  in  gold  or  silver, 
which  threw  the  water  from  their  mouths  from  pipes  of  metal 
;or  stone.  The  baths,  which  lie  upon  the  open  hillside,  are 
[surrounded  by  ruins  of  small  apartments,  which  seem  to  have 
[been  used  as  dressing  rooms,  and  were  also  ornamented  with 
[Statues  of  stone  and  metal. 

Among  the  golden  ornaments  carried  away  by  the  Span- 
iards were  hollow  statues  representing  animals,  birds,  trees 
and  bushes  of  natural  size,  imitations  of  sacks,  baskets  and 
sticks  of  gold  that  were  in  the  form  of  billets  of  wood  col- 
lected for  burning.  Both  the  baths  and  the  palaces  were 
surrounded  by  gardens,  in  which  were  growing  trees  and 
plants  that  were  evidently  brought  from  the  forests  of  lower 
latitudes. 

Upon  the  island  of  Coati,  which  is  six  miles  distant  from 
Titicaca,  was  the  harem  of  the  Inca,  where  the  remains  of  the 
buildings  are  in  a  much  better  state  of  preservation  than  those 
upon  the  island  of  Titicaca,  and  the  principal  walls  remain 
almost  intact.  This  island  was  dedicated  to  the  moon,  and  in 
the  convent  were  many  young  women  selected  for  their  beauty 
and  their  lineage  for  concubines  of  the  monarch  by  a  method 
similar  to  that  formerly  in  vogue  in  Japan,  and  which  still 
exists  in  China. 

Under  the  direction  of  competent  superiors  these  wives  of 


274   BETWEEN  THE  ANDES  AND  THE   OCEAN 

the  monarch  were  taught  the  sacred  duties  of  their  office. 
Their  occupations  were  spinning  and  weaving  the  garments  of 
the  Incas  from  the  finest  vicuna  wool,  in  brilliant  colors,  and 
embroidering  them  with  gold  and  precious  stones.  They 
were  also  obliged  to  weave  the  garments  and  vestments  worn 
by  the  priests  in  the  religious  ceremonials,  and  also  to  prepare 
the  chicha  and  the  sacred  bread  of  corn,  called  '*zaucus,"  for 
the  monarch  and  his  court. 

The  palace  of  the  harem  was  also  richly  marbled  and 
adorned  with  as  much  taste  and  luxury  as  that  upon  the  other 
island,  and  the  Inca  is  said  to  have  conferred  honors  and 
privileges  upon  these  cloistered  women  which  had  the  honor 
of  attending  his  royal  chamber  until  they  reached  the  age  of 
retirement,  when  they  were  permitted  to  return  to  their  homes 
to  spend  the  remainder  of  their  lives  in  luxury  at  the  expense 
of  the  government.  The  moon  was  considered  the  sister  and 
the  wife  of  the  sun,  and  hence  Coati  was  dedicated  to  its  honor. 
The  moon,  however,  was  not  worshiped  like  the  sun,  although 
it  was  considered  the  protecting  deity  of  women  in  child- 
birth. 

Like  the  oriental  monarchs,  the  Inca  had  an  unlimited 
number  of  concubines,  but  only  one  legitimate  wife,  or 
empress,  who  was  called  "coya,"  and  was  always  one  of  his 
sisters.  This  concentration  of  the  blood  was  intended  to 
impress  a  distinction  of  physiognomy  upon  the  royal  family. 
The  throne  belonged  to  the  eldest  son  of  the  coya,  and  is  said 
to  have  passed  without  interruption  from  father  to  son  during 
the  entire  period  in  which  the  Inca  dynasty  flourished.  The 
children  of  the  concubines  were  educated  for  the  priesthood 
and  became  officers  of  the  royal  household,  the  highest  nobility 
of  the  kingdom.  It  is  said  that  at  the  ^time  of  the  Spanish 
invasion  the  harem  at  Coati  contained  700  women,  each  of 
whom  had  several  servants,  and  Garcilasso,  a  nephew  of  the 
last  of  the  Incas,  who  was  educated  in  Spain  and  wrote  a 
remarkable  volume  concerning  the  court  of  his  uncle,  declared 
that  some  of  the  Incas  left  more  than  300  children.  At  the 
time  of  the  Spanish  invasion  the  court  of  Atahualpa  and  his 
brother,   Huascar,  who  divided    authority  with  him  by  the 


I 


Adolf)  F.  Bandelier,   Archeologist. 


FROM   LAKE  TITICACA  TO   LA   PAZ  275 

decree  of  their  father,  contained  more  than  8,000  persons  of 
royal  blood. 

The  island  of  Coati,  which  is  much  smaller  than  Titicaca, 
is  now  a  sheep  farm  inhabited  by  a  single  family.  Within  the 
last  few  years  a  mine  of  coal  has  been  discovered  upon  it.  It 
is  an  inferior  quality  of  bituminous  coal,  but  has  been  used  for 
steaming  purposes,  and  during  the  war  between  Chile  and 
Peru,  when  the  ports  were  blockaded  and  no  other  fuel  was 
available,  it  was  the  only  fuel  available  for  the  steamers  upon 
the  lake. 

Mr.  Adolph  Bandelier,  the  famous  Swiss  archaeologist, 
whose  work  in  Mexico  and  among  the  Pueblo  Indians  in  the 
southwestern  part  of  the  United  States  has  given  him  a  world- 
wide reputation,  spent  several  months  upon  the  islands  of 
Titicaca  and  Coati,  making  excavations  among  the  ruins  and 
attempting  to  ascertain  from  the  Indians  residing  there  the 
traditions  of  their  race.  At  first  he  was  kindly  received,  hav- 
ing the  indorsement  of  Mr.  Garces,  the  owner,  but  he  found 
after  a  time  that  the  Indians  regarded  his  work  with  great 
jealousy  and  suspicion,  and  before  long  showed  an  active 
hostility,  which  he  believed  to  be  due  to  their  reluctance  to 
permit  the  ruins  and  the  soil,  which  to  their  eyes  was  sancti- 
fied by  so  many  traditions  and  associations,  to  be  disturbed  by 
a  foreigner. 

It  was  also  very  difficult  for  him  to  induce  the  natives  to 
discuss  the  traditions  of  their  race,  or  to  explain  the  signifi- 
cance of  the  rites  and  ceremonials  which  they  often  practiced. 
During  the  latter  part  of  his  stay  his  life  was  so  frequently 
threatened  that  he  was  compelled  to  abandon  his  work.  The 
Indians  would  not  dig  in  the  ruins  any  longer  and  would  not 
permit  him  to  do  so,  and  for  several  days  he  was  compelled 
to  remain  in  a  hut  that  had  been  assigned  for  his  accommoda- 
tion, subsiting  entirely  upon  tea,  chocolate  and  a  few  provi- 
sions which  he  had  fortunately  stored  away  for  an  emergency. 

He  had  no  means  of  escape  or  communication  with  the 
outer  world,  and  his  situation  was  becoming  desperate  when 
he  was  rescued  by  a  priest  from  the  mainland,  who  happened 
to  visit  the  islands  in  the  performance  of  his  parochial  duties. 


276    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

Fortunately,  however,  during  several  months  of  labor  Mr. 
Bandalier  was  able  to  make  large  and  important  archaeological 
collections,  which  were  rescued  from  the  Indians  by  the 
priests  of  the  neighboring  town  of  Cococabana  and  are  now 
safely  deposited  in  the  Museum  of  Natural  History  at  New 
York. 

Mr.  Bandelier*s  reports  will  deny  many  popular  theories 
concerning  the  aborigines  and  prehistoric  conditions  of  Peru, 
and  will  doubtless  furnish  material  for  interesting  contro- 
versies in  the  scientific  world.  He  does  not  accept,  but 
contradicts  the  testimony  of  the  early  explorers  upon  most 
important  points.  For  example,  he  acquits  the  Spanish  con- 
quuistadores  of  the  awful  accusation  under  which  they  have 
been  resting  for  three  centuries,  and  declares  that  the  alleged 
depopulation  of  Peru  is  a  myth,  for  it  did  not  occur  after  the 
so-called  conquest,  nor  as  a  result  of  the  conquest  itself. 
Robertson  in  his  history,  the  pious  Las  Casas,  who  was  known 
as  the  apostle  of  the  Indians,  and  other  writers  upon  early 
events  in  America  caused  perpetual  horror  in  the  civilized 
world  by  their  statements  concerning  the  slaughter  of  the 
innocents  who  occupied  these  mountains,  and  which  were 
based  upon  the  unoccupied  habitations  and  the  ruins  that 
extend  through  the  valleys,  the  mountains  and  along  the 
shore  of  the  sea.  Mr.  Bandelier  declares  that  this  was  a 
serious  mistake,  and  that  the  ruins  were  occupied  by  suc- 
cessive and  not  contemporaneous  communities.  At  the  time  of 
the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards  he  asserts  that  the  most  extensive 
settlements  along  the  Peruvian  coast  were  either  completely 
or  at  most  partially  abandoned ;  that  the  site  of  the  great  city 
of  Cajamarquilla  was  not  only  deserted  but  even  forgotten 
by  the  natives  at  the  time  of  the  invasion ;  that  Pachacamac 
was  half  in  ruins  in  1532,  and  that  the  enormous  Chimu  nation 
on  the  arrival  of  Pizarro  had  dwindled  to  a  single  modest 
village,  at  a  site  called  Manische,  a  mile  or  so  distant  from  the 
ruins  near  Truxillo,  which  are  the  most  extensive  in  South 
America.  Mr.  Bandelier  attributes  the  disappearance  of  this 
population  to  constant  warfare  between  the  Incas  in  the 
mountains  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  valleys  on  the  coast. 


FROM   LAKE   TITICACA  TO   LA   PAZ  277 

One  tribe,  he  says,  slaughtered  another  and  wrecked  its 
abodes,  which  were  never  reoccupied. 

The  publication  of  reports  with  such  iconoclastic  tenden- 
cies is  likely  to  create  a  sensation  in  the  scientific  world,  for 
Mr.  Bandolier's  opinions  and  conclusions  differ  so  widely  from 
those  which  have  been  advanced  until  this  time  by  genera- 
tions of  explorers,  and  have  been  almost  universally  accepted. 
Nevertheless,  his  fame  as  a  scientist  and  his  reputation  for 
accuracy,  as  well  as  the  thorough  manner  in  which  he  has  con- 
ducted his  investigations,  give  him  the  right  to  be  heard. 

During  all  his  explorations  Mr.  Bandelier  has  been  accom- 
panied by  his  wife,  a  beautiful  young  Swiss  woman  whom  he 
married  shortly  after  his  arrival  in  Peru.  She  has  been  his 
constant  companion  and  collaborator,  and  he  generously  attri- 
butes to  her  the  greater  part  of  his  success.  Her  beauty  and 
tact  have  enabled  her  to  secure  the  confidence  of  the  Indians 
where  no  ordinary  woman  would  have  been  able  to  do  so,  and 
her  courage  and  endurance  during  the  dangers  and  hardships 
they  have  encountered  have  been  phenomenal. 

I  asked  Professor  Bandelier  who  was  Manco  Capac,  the 
mysterious  founder  of  the  Inca  dynasty. 

*'He  was  not  a  Hindu  Brahmin,  nor  a  Chinese  mandarin, 
nor  a  wandering  Jew,  nor  a  Phoenician,"  he  replied.  "There 
is  no  reason  to  believe  that  he  came  from  outside  the  Andean 
basin,  although  it  is  impossible  to  determine  his  origin  accur- 
ately. It  is  more  than  probable,  however,  that  he  was  some 
strong  character  who  emerged  from  the  masses  and  asserted 
his  individuality.  By  reason  of  his  superior  ability  and  genius 
he  changed  chaos  into  order  and  redeemed  his  race,  who  ideal- 
ized him,  and  either  voluntarily  or  involuntarily  endowed  him 
with  divine  attributes.  He  claimed  to  be  the  offspring  of  the 
Sun,  the  great  creator — the  symbol  as  well  as  the  source  of  life 
and  light  and  happiness.  Every  race  has  a  redeemer,  or  a 
founder,  whose  origin  and  existence  is  more  or  less  involved 
in  mystery — the  Thor  of  the  Norse^men,  Mahomet,  Zoroaster, 
Buddha,  Confucius,  Romulus  and  Remus,  Adam,  Moses  and 
Christ.  Manco  Capac  in  the  traditions  of  the  Incas  was  a 
similar  character." 


278    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

When  the  Spanish  invaders  entered  this  country  they  won- 
dered at  the  manner  in  which  their  movements  were  antici- 
pated by  the  natives.  Every  act  appeared  to  be  instantly 
communicated  over  the  entire  empire  almost  as  swiftly  as  if 
sent  by  telegraph.  After  a  few  months  they  discovered  that 
there  was  an  organization  of  runners  who  carried  the  news 
with  amazing  speed  over  the  snow-covered  mountains  and 
across  the  scorching  sands.  These  were  known  as  chaquis,  and 
were  selected  by  reason  of  their  physical  qualifications  and 
trained  for  speed  and  endurance.  When  they  became  incapac- 
itated by  age  or  accident  less  arduous  duties  were  given  them 
in  the  army  or  about  the  court. 

As  the  Incas  had  no  written  language  their  messages  were 
always  oral,  so  the  memories  as  well  as  the  muscles  of  the 
chaquis  were  trained.  Sometimes  the  Inca  communicated  with 
his  subordinates  in  other  parts  of  the  country  by  signs — a  ring, 
a  piece  of  molded  clay  or  a  leaf  might  be  transmitted — which 
meant  nothing  to  the  man  who  bore  it  or  to  the  people  who 
saw  it  in  his  hands,  but  was  very  portentious  to  him  for  whom 
it  was  intended.  As  proof  of  the  speed  of  the  chaquis  it  is 
said  that  the  royal  table  at  Cuzco  was  often  served  with  fresh 
fish  caught  in  the  sea  fifty  or  sixty  hours  previous — a  distance 
that  now  requires  from  six  to  ten  days  to  travel  by  railways 
and  stage.  Along  the  highways  and  the  mountain  trails,  at 
frequent  intervals,  were  established  station  houses,  usually 
erected  upon  hillocks  and  other  points  of  observation  from 
which  the  approach  of  messengers  could  be  detected.  As  one 
arrived,  heated  and  breathless,  a  fresh  chaqui  would  be  ready 
to  receive  the  message  and  carry  it  to  the  next  station  without 
an  instant's  delay. 

The  chaquis  still  exist,  but  they  are  no  longer  organized 
and  there  is  little  use  for  them.  In  time  of  war  they  are 
useful,  as  they  have  many  of  the  instincts  and  much  of  the 
skill  of  scouts,  and  being  familiar  with  the  byways  as  well  as 
the  highways  are  able  to  slip  through  the  lines  of  the  enemy 
without  danger.  Some  years  ago  I  saw  a  chaqui  named 
Qualnapambo  (bird-chaser),  who  was  very  swift  of  foot  and 
almost  incapable  of  fatigue.     He  had  been  employed  for  sev- 


FROM   LAKE   TITICACA   TO   LA   PAZ  279 

eral  years  by  General  Caceras,  then  president  of  Peru,  and  had 
carried  a  message  250  miles  without  rest  or  sleep  through  the 
enemy's  country,  and  had  returned  with  the  answer  within  a 
week. 

The  chaqui  never  carries  food  with  him,  but  depends 
entirely  upon  the  coca  leaf ;  nor  are  his  movements  impeded 
by  clothing.  He  goes  as  nearly  naked  as  possible,  but  carries 
a  poncho  and  paints  his  legs  with  a  vegetable  dye  as  a  protec- 
tion against  poisonous  vines  and  the  bites  of  insects. 

The  little  port  of  Chillilaya  handles  more  than  one-third  of 
the  entire  foreign  commerce  of  Bolivia.  It  lies  at  the  southern 
extremity  of  Lake  Titicaca,  and  is  reached  by  a  weekly 
steamer  from  Puna,  the  terminus  of  the  southern  railway  of 
Peru.  La  Paz,  the  actual  capital  and  commercial  metropolis 
of  Bolivia,  is  forty-five  miles  across  the  plains.  The  road  is 
almost  level  the  entire  distance,  and  lies  at  an  elevation  of 
12,500  feet  above  the  sea.  There  is  a  weekly  stagecoach,  a 
lumbering  vehicle  drawn  by  eight  mules  and  driven  by  a  Jehu 
whose  language  and  gyrations  are  calculated  to  occasion  great 
alarm  among  nervous  people  who  do  not  know  that  mule  driv- 
ers in  South  America  always  act  that  way.  Beside  his  long 
whip,  which  is  handled  with  great  skill  and  accuracy,  he  car- 
ries a  bag  full  of  small  stones  as  an  auxiliary,  and  shies  them 
at  the  leaders  with  an  aim  that  David  himself  could  not  have 
excelled.  Indeed,  he  can  touch  the  tip  of  the  ear  of  the  leader 
of  his  eight  mule  team  nine  times  out  of  ten  with  a  pebble  not 
bigger  than  a  pigeon's  egg,  and  can  hit  any  other  part  of  the 
body  of  any  other  beast  in  the  team  with  unerring  skill.  Pas- 
sengers who  are  in  a  hurry  to  reach  La  Paz  prefer  to  hire  a 
private  "coach,"  as  they  call  it,  and  are  furnished  with  a  team 
of  four  mules  and  a  vehicle  similar  to  those  known  as  democrat 
wagons  in  the  United  States.  It  is  protected  by  a  canvas 
cover,  but  the  curtains  are  always  loose,  so  that  they  go  flap- 
ping around  in  the  air  in  a  most  reprehensible  manner. 
Nobody  seems  to  know  when  or  where  these  "coaches"  were 
constructed,  but  the  material  is  strong  and  the  workmanship 
more  than  usually  good,  or  they  could  not  endure  the  hard 
usage  that  is  assigned  them. 


28o   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

The  road  is  the  best  I  have  seen  in  South  America,  but  for 
the  greater  part  of  the  way  is  covered  with  bowlders  that  vary 
in  size  from  a  baseball  to  a  washtub,  round  and  smooth,  and 
they  are  strewn  from  one  end  of  the  journey  to  the  other. 
There  are  several  water  courses  across  the  great  plateau, 
which  are  filled  with  similar  bowlders  many  layers  thick — 
indeed,  so  deep  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  the  bottom. 
It  seems  as  if  all  the  bowlders  in  the  world  had  been  collected 
and  dropped  along  that  roadway.  Mr.  Bandelier  says  they  were 
dropped  by  the  glaciers  that  passed  over  this  plain  ages  ago, 
and  the  liberality  with  which  they  were  distributed  is  com- 
mendable. The  entire  surface  of  the  earth  is  strewn  with, 
them.  The  patient  natives  have  gathered  them  into  piles  as 
big  as  hay  stacks,  and  in  long  windrows,  and  have  made  fences 
of  them  so  that  they  can  cultivate  the  soil  underneath,  but  a 
large  share  have  been  thrown  into  the  road,  and  our  good- 
humored  *'cochero"  hustles  his  mules  over  them  with  a  speed 
that  would  have  made  Jehu  blush  for  mortification ;  and  the 
rougher  the  road  the  faster  he  drives.  Whenever  something 
breaks  about  the  wagon  he  gets  down  and  ties  it  up  with  a 
string  or  a  strap,  and  then  resumes  his  reckless  career.  There 
is  ,jio  use  in  trying  to  stop  him.  The  lean  and  hungry-looking 
animals  that  compose  his  team  are  accustomed  to  gallop  the 
entire  distance  and  would  not  understand  what  he  meant  if  he 
tried  to  moderate  their  speed,  so  all  the  passengers  can  do  is 
to  cling  to  the  iron  rods  that  support  the  canopy  of  the  wagon 
and  shut  their  eyes  against  any  possible  catastrophe.  The 
teams  are  changed  twice  during  the  journey  at  haciendas  of 
adobe  that  stand  by  the  roadside,  surrounded  by  high  adobe 
walls  and  hugh  stacks  of  barley  straw,  and  refreshments  are 
served  to  the  passengers  as  ordered. 

Chillilaya  is  a  little  town  of  low  mud  houses  on  the  brink  of 
the  lake,  with  a  panorama  of  majestic  snow-clad  mountains 
around  it.  There  is  no  more  imposing  scenery  in  the  world. 
At  least  seven  peaks  exceeding  20,000  feet  in  height,  stand  in 
review,  with  sierras  of  lesser  altitude  between  them,  and  fur- 
nish an  impassable  barrier  between  this  great  plateau  and  the 
more  fertile  slopes  that  lead  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Amazon. 


FROM   LAKE   TITICACA   TO   LA   PAZ  281 

An  enormous  amount  of  business  is  done  at  Chillalaya. 
The  steamers  on  Lake  Titicaca  land  their  cargoes  of  merchan- 
dise upon  a  long  stone  pier,  from  which  it  is  carried  on  tiny 
cars  to  a  custom  house,  where  the  captain  of  the  port,  with  a 
gorgeous  uniform  and  autocratic  ways,  directs  the  energy  of 
hundreds  of  picturesque  Indians,  with  long  hair,  quaint  hats 
and  the  ever-present  ponchos.  He  is  a  person  of  great  impor- 
tance, this  captain  of  the  port,  for  the  revenues  of  the  republic 
largely  depend  upon  his  vigilance.  He  examined  our  ordinary 
luggage  with  haughty  indifference,  but  laid  the  typewriter,  the 
banjo  and  the  kodak  to  one  side  as  objects  of  doubtful  pro- 
priety, and  it  took  him  a  long  time  to  determine  whether  he 
should  impose  a  heavy  duty  upon  them  or  even  admit  them  at 
all.  The  kodak  he  was  evidently  acquainted  with,  but  showed 
great  interest  when  its  purpose  and  method  of  manipulation 
were  explained  to  him.  The  typewriter  was  the  source  of 
wonder,  not  only  to  him,  but  to  all  the  natives,  who  suspended 
business  for  a  time  and  stared  at  it  with  amazement,  as  if  it 
were  some  infernal  machine  which  we  were  trying  to  introduce 
with  evil  designs  into  the  country;  but  the  banjo  was  regarded 
with  even  greater  suspicion,  for  its  like  was  never  seen  in 
Chillilaya  before.  Finally,  with  many  misgivings,  this  impor- 
tant official  accepted  the  explanation  and  guaranty  of  Mr. 
Creighlon,  the  Scotch  engineer  of  the  steamer  Coya,  and 
allowed  us  to  place  the  three  mysterious  articles  in  the  coach 
that  was  ready  to  receive  us. 

Large  troops  of  mules,  burros  and  llamas  were  standing 
about  the  area  in  front  of  the  custom  house  awaiting  their 
burdens,  for  nearly  all  the  commerce  between  Chillilaya  and 
the  interior  is  conducted  by  that  means.  There  aie  a  few 
huge  carts  drawn  by  teams  of  six  and  eight  mules  passing  to 
and  fro  between  Chillilaya  and  La  Paz,  which  carry  lumber, 
machinery  and  other  heavy  freight.  But  there  are  no  rail  mads 
and  few  wagon  roads  in  the  interior,  the  total  length  of  all  the 
highways  that  can  accommodate  a  carriage  in  the  entire  repub- 
lic being  720  miles.  These  roads  connect  the  principal  cities 
of  La  Paz,  Oruru,  Cochabamba,  Sucre  and  Potosi.  They  were 
constructed  by  the  government  and  are  maintained  in  the 


282    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

same  way  as  the  country  roads  in  the  United  States.  All 
male  citizens  between  the  ages  of  i8  and  60  are  obliged  to 
work  upon  the  roads  one  day  in  each  six  months,  or  pay  in  lieu 
thereof  50  cents  in  silver  in  order  that  a  substitute  may  be 
employed.  Thus  the  few  highways  are  kept  in  passable  condi- 
tion, and  communication  by  stage  and  wagon  between  the 
principal  cities  in  the  great  Andean  basin  is  maintained ;  but 
when  one  leaves  that  plateau  one  is  compelled  to  depend 
entirely  upon  the  use  of  pack  animals,  mules,  donkeys  and 
llamas,  which  toil  up  and  down  narrow  and  tortuous  trails  and 
wend  their  way  through  the  deep  gorges,  over  rocky  passes 
and  around  the  sharp  and  precipitous  angles  of  the  mountains, 
bearing  their  burdens  of  ore,  coca,  coffee,  wool  and  other 
natural  products  to  the  commercial  markets,  where  they  are 
exchanged  for  flour,  dry  goods,  alcohol  and  other  imported 
merchandise. 

Like  the  rest  of  the  great  plateau  which  lies  between  the 
two  ranges  of  the  Andes,  the  territory  from  Lake  Titicaca  and 
La  Paz  is  divided  into  a  few  enormous  haciendas  or  farms, 
which  are  dotted  with  groups  of  mud  huts  that  are  occupied 
by  the  tenants  who  till  the  ground  and  herd  the  sheep  and 
cattle,  and  their  ancestors  have  occupied  the  same  miserable 
quarters  for  generations  and  even  centuries.  The  system  of 
farming  in  Bolivia  is  not  unlike  that  of  Ireland,  and  one  is 
constantly  reminded  of  the  emerald  isle  when  traveling 
through  this  country,  but  in  Bolivia  the  tenants  pay  no  rent. 
Each  has  a  little  patch  of  ground  which  he  cultivates,  as  his 
ancestors  have  done,  upon  shares.  The  landlord  furnishes 
him  a  team  of  mules  or  oxen  and  the  primitive  implements  to 
which  he  is  accustomed,  and  advances  him  a  certain  amount  of 
supplies  from  the  store  at  headquarters,  which  are  charged 
against  him,  and  when  he  brings  in  his  harvest  he  is  credited 
with  the  value  of  his  share.  Or,  if  he  is  a  shepherd,  he 
receives  as  compensation  for  his  labor  in  attending  the  flocks 
a  certain  proportion  of  the  wool  and  a  given  number  of  lambs, 
and  once  a  year  there  is  a  settlement  at  headquarters,  in 
which  he  usually  comes  out  behind.  He  is  always  in  debt  to 
the  patron,  as  his  employer  is  called,   and  the  laws  of  the 


Bolivian  Farmers. 


FROM   LAKE  TITICACA  TO  LA  PAZ  283 

country  require  him  to  live  in  a  state  of  peonage  and  serve 
that  master  until  the  account  is  settled.  Sometimes  'he  wan- 
ders from  his  home  to  a  different  part  of  the  country,  and  may 
remain  away  for  months  or  years,  but  his  family  seldom  goes 
with  him,  and  the  wife  and  sons  and  daughters  continue  to 
cultivate  the  little  patch  of  ground  and  look  after  the  little 
herd  of  sheep  or  cattle  without  his  assistance.  The  patron 
may  send  for  him  and  have  him  brought  back  by  the  police  or 
military  authorities,  and  the  expense  of  his  capture  and  return 
are  charged  against  him  on  the  books  at  the  hacienda.  But 
this  seldom  happens.  The  relations  between  landlords  and 
tenants  are  similar  to  those  of  the  old  feudal  times  in  Europe. 
The  former  exercise  a  patriarchal  authority  over  the  Indians 
that  live  upon  his  lands,  and  they  serve  him  with  loyalty  as 
long  as  he  allows  them  a  measure  of  independence.  The 
haciendas  seldom  change  hands.  The  property  is  inherited  by 
one  generation  from  another,  and  the  customs  of  the  country 
are  so  fixed  and  rigid  that  they  are  seldom  violated  either  by 
the  employers  or  the  employed. 

The  mud  huts  of  the  tenants  are  usually  found  in  little 
groups  or  villages,  and  occasionally  among  them  you  see  a 
little  chapel,  which  is  attended  by  a  padre,  who  exercises  an 
influence  among  his  parishioners  even  greater  than  that  of 
the  haciendado.  In  addition  to  his  spiritual  ministrations  the 
cur^  is  expected  to  maintain  a  school  for  the  children  of  the 
parish,  but  in  most  cases  his  duties  in  this  respect  are  purely 
theoretical,  and  the  Indians  remain  untaught. 

The  methods  of  farming  are  primitive  and  the  implements- 
are  rude.  The  soil  is  plowed  with  a  crooked  stick  with  one 
handle,  drawn  by  a  pair  of  bullocks,  yoked  by  lashing  a  piece 
of  wood  behind  their  horns.  The  clods  are  broken  by  hand, 
usually  by  women  and  children,  who  follow  the  plowman,  and 
the  ground  is  harrowed  by  dragging  a  heavy  slab  or  log  over 
it.  It  is  then  cut  into  deep  furrows,  which  serve  the  double 
purpose  of  drilling  in  the  grain  and  irrigating  the  growing 
crop. 

On  this  high  plain  little  is  raised  but  barley,  wheat,  corn 
and  potatoes,  and  often  the  season  is  so  short  and  cold  that  the 


284   BETWEEN   THE  ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

wheat  does  not  come  to  maturity.     When  the  grain  is  har- 
vested it  is  thrashed  by  driving  cattle  over  it. 

The  flocks  and  herds  are  a  larger  and  more  certain  source 
of  revenue  than  the  soil.  The  sheep  and  alpacas  seem  to  find 
sufficient  nourishment  in  the  scanty  grass  that  grows  upon 
these  cold  plateaus,  for  they  are  large  of  bone,  well  covered 
with  flesh,  and  carry  heavy  fleeces.  It  is  claimed  that  the 
higher  the  altitude  and  the  colder  the  climate,  up  to  a  certain 
limit,  the  heavier  the  fleece,  and  sheep  and  alpacas  will  feed 
almost  to  the  snow  line,  which  in  this  latitude  is  15,000  feet. 
Most  of  the  herds  are  attended  by  women  and  children,  as  in 
the  mountains  of  Peru,  and  scattered  over  the  grazing  grounds 
are  rude  shelters  made  of  mud  or  brush  to  protect  them  from 
the  bitter  wind.  The  women  and  even  the  little  girls  in  the 
fields  all  carry  bunches  of  carded  wool,  which  they  are  contin- 
ually spinning  into  yarn  with  a  curious  wooden  implement 
called  a  "rucca."  Their  hands  are  never  idle.  The  rucca  is 
a  cylinder  or  spool  of  wood  about  eight  inches  long.  One  end 
tapers  to  a  point,  at  which  there  is  a  little  notch  that  holds  the 
thread.  They  draw  out  the  fibers  from  the  lump  of  wool  with 
their  fingers  to  a  proper  thickness,  and  then  with  a  deft  twist 
whirl  the  rucca  suspended  in  the  air  until  the  fibers  are  wound 
into  a  compact  string.  Then  they  wind  it  upon  the  spool, 
catch  it  in  the  notch  and  continue  until  the  spool  is  filled. 

This  land  has  been  cultivated  for  unnumbered  centuries. 
During  the  Inca  dynasty  the  territory  was  divided  into  three 
equal  parts.  One  belonged  to  the  Deity,  another  to  the  Inca, 
and  the  third  to  the  people,  and  under  an  autocratic  govern- 
ment a  system  of  socialism  was  practiced  with  a  fraternal 
equality  and  a  peaceful  prosperity  that  was  never  surpassed  in 
any  part  of  the  world.  Each  adult  was  required  to  spend  one- 
third  of  his  time  in  labor  for  the  Deity,  one-third  for  the  king, 
and  the  remainder  for  his  own  benefit,  and  the  flocks  were 
divided  and  cared  for  in  a  similar  manner.  The  lands  of  the 
aged  and  the  infirm  and  those  of  soldiers  who  were  engaged  in 
active  service  for  the  king  were  cultivated  by  their  neighbors. 
Those  who  were  in  need  of  seed  or  implements  were  provided 
from  the  royal  depositories.      While  human  selfishness  has 


FROM   LAKE  TITICACA   TO   LA  PAZ  285 

prevailed  from  the  entrance  of  the  serpent  into  Eden,  it  is 
asserted  by  the  early  writers  that  under  the  authority  of  the 
Incas  the  people  of  this  region  looked  after  the  interests  of 
each  other  with  as  much  zeal  as  they  devoted  to  their  own 
affairs.  The  oldest  son  in  every  family  was  obliged  to  follow 
the  profession  of  his  father,  the  younger  sons  were  permitted 
to  engage  in  other  business,  to  enter  the  army  and  to  emigrate 
to  other  provinces,  but  not  until  the  family  were  secure  from 
poverty  and  the  elder  brother  had  demonstrated  his  ability  to 
care  for  them.  When  the  Spaniards  invaded  the  country  they 
seized  all  the  land,  divided  it  among  themselves  and  made 
slaves  of  the  people. 

As  the  journey  to  La  Paz  approaches  its  end  the  traveler 
enjoys  a  startling  surprise.  The  highway  across  the  plateau 
leads  to  the  brink  of  a  vast  canyon  i,  100  feet  deep,  whose  walls 
are  almost  perpendicular,  and  which  in  many  respects  resem- 
bles the  Grand  Canyon  of  the  Colorado.  At  the  foot  of  this 
mighty  gorge  lies  the  capital  of  Bolivia,  and  the  first  glance 
shows  a  wide  expanse  of  red  tiled  roofs,  occasionally  broken 
by  a  bunch  of  foliage  or  a  group  of  graceful  spires.  In  the 
center  of  the  city  is  a  river  that  comes  tumbling  down  from 
the  mountains  and  is  crossed  by  a  series  of  picturesque  bridges 
of  massive  masonry  centuries  old.  This  river,  in  the  native 
Aymara  language,  is  called  Chuquiapa,  meaning  the  river  of 
gold,  and  the  peculiar  location  of  La  Paz  at  the  bottom  of  the 
canyon  is  due  to  the  placer  mines  which  were  worked  with  great 
profit  during  the  early  occupation  of  the  Spaniards.  The 
gold  in  the  river  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  city 
was  exhausted  )''ears  ago,  but  the  washings  are  still  carried  on 
in  the  surrounding  mountains.  Within  a  league  of  La  Paz 
only  a  few  years  ago  a  nugget  worth  $5,000  was  picked  up  in 
the  bed  of  the  stream,  and  is  owned  by  Senor  Matta,  who  was 
then  the  minister  of  Chile.  In  the  seventeenth  century  an 
Indian  who  was  woiking  in  the  stream  in  the  very  center  of 
the  city  found  a  nugget  that  sold  for  $11,269.  Occasionally  in 
these  days  small  chunks  of  metal  are  still  picked  up. 

But  the  city  of  La  Paz  has  long  since  ceased  to  be  a  mining 
town,    and  is  now  the   political   and    commercial   center  of 


286   BETWEEN  THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

Bolivia.  A  narrow  roadway,  carved  in  the  side  of  the  preci- 
pice, leads  from  the  plateau  to  the  bottom  of  the  canyon,  and 
our  driver,  after  looking  his  wagon  carefully  over  to  see  that 
everything  was  tight,  whipped  up  his  mules  and  started  down 
the  serpentine  path  with  a  speed  that  made  the  passengers 
feel  very  uneasy,  and  created  a  sensation  among  the  people 
that  live  along  the  roadway,  who  ran  out  of  their  houses  to 
witness  the  spectacle.  This  gratified  the  pride  of  Jehu,  who 
cracked  his  whip  and  yelled  at  his  mules  with  a  becoming 
sense  of  his  importance.  Although  you  could  almost  drop  a 
stone  from  the  rim  of  the  canyon  upon  the  roofs  of  the  houses 
I,  I oo  feet  below,  the  roadway  is  three  miles  long. 

There  ought  to  be  a  railway  between  La  Paz  and  Lake 
Titicaca.  Several  surveys  have  been  made,  and  the  only 
reason  the  track  has  not  been  laid  is  the  poverty  and  insecurity 
of  the  government.  Every  time  a  new  president  comes  into 
power  the  scheme  is  revived,  and  just  now,  since  the  conserv- 
ative party  was  overthrown  and  the  liberals  have  come  into 
power,  an  English  engineer  —  Mr.  Satchell  —  has  made  his 
appearance  in  La  Paz  for  the  purpose  of  revising  the  surveys 
and  renewing  the  efforts  to  carry  out  the  enterprise. 


XIX 
THE  CITY  OF  LA  PAZ 

Rome,  you  know,  sat  upon  seven  hills,  and  if  that  is  an 
advantage  La  Paz  is  far  and  away  more  notable  than  the 
Eternal  city,  for  it  covers  forty  hills  and  hollows.  It  is  diffi- 
cult to  count  them.  Two  or  three  of  the  main  streets,  which 
lie  along  the  ridges,  are  reasonably  level  and  wide  enough  to 
accommodate  the  traffic  and  the  trade  of  an  active  population 
numbering  60,000  or  70,000 — there  has  never  been  a  reliable 
census.  They  are  lined  with  fine  houses,  built  of  heavy  walls 
of  stone  or  adobe,  and  painted  in  gaudy  colors — blue,  green, 
purple,  and  orange — and  often  embellished  with  designs  in 
other  tints  that  are  very  much  admired  by  the  Bolivians,  who 
love  gay  colors  and  music  and  motion.  But  most  of  the  streets 
are  as  narrow  and  as  steep  as  stairways.  They  are  without 
sidewalks,  except  the  plaza  and  the  principal  trading  streets, 
and  the  pavements  are  made  of  small  cobblestones,  with  the 
sharp  ends  up,  so  as  to  lessen  the  danger  of  slipping  in  damp 
weather.  While  this  precaution  is  entirely  necessary  to  the 
welfare  of  men  and  women,  as  well  as  beasts,  it  has  its  disad- 
vantages so  far  as  the  comfort  of  tender  feet  and  the  wear  of 
sole  leather  are  concerned.  To  a  person  afflicted  with  corns 
La  Paz  is  a  purgatory,  and  one  can  wear  out  a  pair  of  shoes 
there  quicker  than  in  any  other  place  I  know. 

There  are  only  two  carriages  in  town.  One  belongs  to  the 
archbishop,  and  his  eminence  is  hauled  about  by  three  horses 
because  his  ecclesiastical  pediments  are  afflicted  with  the 
gout.  The  other  carriage  is  the  property  of  the  government, 
and  is  one  of  the  perquisites  that  pertains  to  the  presidential 
power.  It  is  an  ordinary  landau  imported  from  Paris  in 
pieces  and  put  together  by  local  talent,  and  a  native  artist  has 
painted  upon  the  panels  of  the  doors  a  brilliant  reproduction 

287 


388   BETWEEN  THE  ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

of  the  coat  of  arms  of  the  republic  about  a  foot  square  in  the 
national  colors — ^green,  yellow  and  red.  This  is  greatly- 
admired  by  the  populace,  who  see  the  carriage  only  occasion- 
ally— on  state  occasions,  when  it  is  drawn  by  four  big  black 
horses  wearing  harness  heavily  mounted  with  silver  and  deco- 
rated with  rosettes,  tassels  and  streamers  of  the  national  colors. 

Everybody  else  goes  on  horseback,  and  the  equestrian  art 
has  reached  a  high  degree  of  cultivation  among  both  men  and 
women.  The  horses  are  trained  to  comfortable  gaits,  and  the 
trappings  of  a  cabellero  usually  indicate  his  wealth  or  social 
position.  The  bridle  and  reins  are  braided  in  a  most  ingen- 
ious manner  of  strips  of  white  kid.  The  saddle  is  an  example 
of  embossed  and  stamped  leather  superior  to  anything  we  ever 
see  in  the  States,  although  you  often  find  equal  and  even 
superior  workmanship  in  Mexico,  where  the  art  was  inherited 
from  the  leather  workers  of  Cordova,  in  Spain.  The  stirrups 
attached  to  the  saddle  of  a  Bolivian  cabellero  may  be  carved 
wood  or  brass,  in  the  shape  of  slippers,  or  even  silver  orna- 
mented with  beautiful  designs  in  repouss^.  His  spurs  are 
enormous  wheels  of  silver,  often  three  inches  in  diameter. 
The  saddle  blanket  is  a  handsome  piece  of  alpaca  hide,  with 
long  fleeces  of  wool  carefully  combed  out  and  curled.  The 
rider  always  wears  a  poncho,  that  convenient  and  comfortable 
garment  which  serves  as  an  overcoat  and  an  umbrella,  a 
duster,  a  mackintosh,  a  blanket,  and,  like  charity,  covers  any 
defects  in  the  wearer's  wardrobe. 

There  are  several  low  oxcarts  in  La  Paz  engaged  in  hauling 
heavy  merchandise,  but  they  stick  to  the  level  streets  which 
lie  along  the  ridges  or  work  up  the  steep  inclines  as  best  they 
can.  Most  of  the  transportation  is  done  on  the  backs  of  burros 
and  llamas,  and  you  can  see  droves  of  them  from  every  street 
corner. 

There  is  only  one  street-car  line  in  the  city,  and  that  does 
not  carry  passengers,  but  was  laid  out  twenty-five  or  thirty 
years  ago  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  stone  from  a  quarry  up 
the  canyon  to  the  cathedral  that  for  half  a  century  has  been  in 
course  of  construction  in  the  plaza.  The  low  flatcars  laden 
with  stone  are  hauled  by  mules  and  attended  by  squads  of 


THE  CITY  OF  LA   PAZ  289 

Indians.  When  they  reach  an  up-grade  the  peons  take  hold 
and  push,  and  when  they  reach  a  down-grade  they  hop  on  and 
ride. 

The  cathedral,  which  adjoins  the  government  "palace,." 
where  the  president  resides  and  the  heads  of  the  executive 
departments  have  their  offices,  is  an  enormous  structure,  big 
enough  for  a  town  ten  times  the  size  of  La  Paz,  and  it  will  be 
very  imposing  if  it  is  ever  finished.  The  walls,  which  are 
eight  or  ten  feet  thick,  are  veneered  with  handsomely  dressed 
stone,  and  some  of  the  carving  is  artistic.  But,  although  work 
has  been  in  progress  for  fifty  years,  they  are  not  more  than 
thirty  feet  high,  and  at  the  present  rate  it  will  require  several 
centuries  for  completion.  Besides  the  money  collected  by  the 
clergy  throughout  the  republic,  the  government  has  contrib- 
uted $50,000  a  year  to  the  construction  fund  on  the  theory  that 
the  cathedral  is  a  state  institution,  but  there  is  some  doubt 
whether  the  liberal  party,  which  has  recently  come  into  power 
through  a  revolution,  will  continue  the  subsidy.  One  of  the 
[principal  planks  in  the  liberal  platform  is  the  separation  of 
ihurch  and  state,  and  forbids  the  interference  of  the  clergy 
in  politics. 

There  are  no  notable  buildings  in  La  Paz.  Churches  are 
numerous  but  commonplace.  There  are  several  big  monas- 
teries and  convents  that  cover  blocks  of  ground.  The  Carmel- 
ite nuns,  numbering  several  hundred,  are  living  in  a  seclusion 
that  has  never  been  violated,  although  the  revolutionary  out- 
breaks that  have  been  frequent  do  not  usually  respect  church 
property.  This  particular  nunnery  is  said  to  be  the  largest  and 
the  most  rigid  in  its  restrictions  of  any  in  America,  or  perhaps 
in  the  world.  The  inmates  are  chiefly  from  the  upper  classes 
of  Bolivia,  and  those  who  pass  its  portals  never  emerge  again 
until  their  lifeless  dust  is  conveyed  by  night  to  a  forlorn  little 
cemetery,  shaded  by  rows  of  eucalyptus  trees,  that  lies  upon  a 
neighboring  hillside.  Nor  do  they  ever  see  or  communicate 
with  the  world  outside  their  walls.  Their  immolation  is  com- 
plete. They  spend  their  lives  praying  for  the  sins  of  the 
world,  and  in  holy  contemplation.  They  are  engaged  in  no 
occupations;  their  cooking  is  done  by  lay  sisters  who  make 


290   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND  THE   OCEAN 

their  garments  also  and  perform  whatever  service  is  needed 
within  or  without  the  convent  walls.  It  is  said  that  absolute 
silence  is  enjoined  upon  all  the  inmates.  They  cannot  sing  or 
speak  or  even  pray  aloud  from  one  year's  end  to  another,  and 
with  the  exception  of  an  hour  which  they  pass  in  physical 
exercise  every  afternoon  pacing  the  pavements  of  the  patios 
with  downcast  eyes  and  folded  hands,  their  entire  time  is  spent 
in  prayer  before  the  altar  of  the  chapel  or  in  the  seclusion  of 
their  cells.  It  is  considered  a  social  distinction  in  Bolivia  for 
a  family  to  have  contributed  one  of  its  daughters  to  this  order. 

This  nunnery  and  the  Franciscan  monastery,  which  is  nearly 
as  large,  were  formerly  very  rich  in  mines  and  haciendas,  but 
they  have  lost  a  large  amount  of  their  property  and  complain 
of  being  poor.  Some  of  the  most  profitable  mines  in  the 
Andes  belong  to  the  Franciscans  and  the  Jesuits,  and  were 
worked  by  Indian  slaves  for  centuries,  but  the  introduction  of 
modern  machinery  into  other  mines  and  the  depreciation  of 
the  price  of  silver  has  caused  them  to  be  abandoned.  La  Paz 
has  suffered  severely  from  the  same  cause.  It  used  to  be  an 
enormously  rich  city,  and,  isolated  there  in  the  mountains, 
inaccessible  to  the  rest  of  the  world  except  by  a  journey  of 
thirty-five  or  forty  days  on  horseback,  before  the  railroad  was 
built,  among  themselves  the  people  enjoyed  a  peculiar  pride 
and  distinction  in  their  own  achievements,  which  have  been 
dissipated  since  poverty  and  modern  ideas  and  foreign  fash- 
ions have  been  brought  in  among  them.  It  is  now  only  five 
days'  journey  by  stage  and  boat  and  railway  train  to  a  seaport 
where  one  may  take  a  steamer  to  the  United  States  or  Europe, 
and  it  used  to  be  forty.  That  certainly  is  progress.  Not 
many  years  ago  you  could  buy  nothing  in  Bolivia  that  was  not 
manufactured  by  hand  within  its  own  boundaries.  Now  the 
show  windows  of  the  principal  streets  are  filled  with  the  latest 
fashions  and  flummery  from  Paris  and  Berlin,  New  York  and 
London,  and  those  who  can  pay  the  price  may  wear  a  French 
bonnet  to  the  bull  fight. 

Piled  up  in  the  show  windows  are  packages  of  English  soap, 
French  perfumery,  Chicago  tinned  meats,  Oregon  salmon, 
New  England  codfish,  kodaks,  fountain  pens  and  an  infinite 


\ 


A  Power  in  the  Land. 


THE  CITY  OF   LA   PAZ  291 

variety  of  other  novelties  from  all  comers  of  the  world,  but 
most  of  the  substantial  goods  are  made  in  Germany.  The 
Germans  very  nearly  monopolize  the  retail  business  there,  as 
in  other  parts  of  South  America,  and  of  course  buy  their 
goods  at  home. 

Other  cities  in  Bolivia  are  not  so  far  advanced  as  La  Paz. 
Most  of  them  are  100  years  behind  the  times,  and  still  adhere 
to  the  antiquated  manners  and  methods  which  their  ancestors 
brought  from  Spain.  There  is  certainly  no  part  of  America — 
I  think  it  is  safe  to  say  that  there  is  no  spot  in  the  civilized 
universe — that  is  so  far  behind  the  age  or  where  primitive 
modes  of  life  prevail  as  they  do  in  Bolivia. 

The  many  fine  houses  in  La  Paz  testify  to  the  former 
wealth  of  its  inhabitants.  They  are  built  upon  the  Spanish 
plan,  and  are  grand,  gloomy  and  peculiar.  The  large  drawing 
rooms  are  filled  with  antiquated  furniture  of  most  elaborate 
patterns,  the  walls  are  decorated  with  ancestral  portraits  and 
ancient  paintings,  many  of  them  of  great  value,  and  massive 
mirrors  which  make  you  wonder  how  they  could  possibly  have 
been  brought  over  the  mountains.  There  is  a  passion  for  mir- 
rors among  all  of  the  Spanish- American  peoples,  and  in  some 
houses  can  be  found  pier  glasses  held  in  massive  Florentine 
frames  that  are  worth  more  than  all  the  rest  of  the  furniture 
under  the  roof  combined.  These  are  particularly  expensive  in 
the  Andean  country,  where  until  recently,  as  I  have  told  you, 
everything  had  to  be  carried  across  the  desert  and  over  the 
Cordilleras  on  the  back  of  mules  or  llamas,  but  they  were 
bought  in  the  bonanza  days  of  Bolivia,  when  the  mines  were 
pouring  out  streams  of  silver  and  people  could  afford  to  be 
extravagant.  I  have  seen  in  a  single  drawing  room  in  La  Paz 
as  much  plate  glass  as  can  be  found  in  the  whole  of  a  luxurious 
mansion  in  New  York. 

It  is  a  mystery,  too,  how  they  got  so  many  pianos  up  there. 
The  people  are  passionately  fond  of  music,  and  every  man 
and  woman  among  the  white  class  is  a  performer  upon  the 
piano  or  some  other  instrument.  There  are  several  gifted 
composers  in  Bolivia,  and  the  native  music  is  attractive  because 
of  its  peculiar  time  and  quaint  melody ;    but  it  is  a  never- 


292    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

ending  wonder  how  pianos  that  were  manufactured  in  France 
and  Germany  are  found  in  nearly  every  house  and  could  have 
been  brought  across  the  weary  trails  and  over  the  slippery 
passes  of  the  mountains  by  pack  animals. 

The  inclines  in  the  streets  of  La  Paz  are  so  sharp  that  some 
of  the  houses  have  one  story  in  front  and  three  stories  in  the 
rear.  There  is  a  good  hotel,  the  best  I  have  found  in  South 
America,  and  it  occupies  the  old  palace  of  the  governor  of 
Spain,  which  according  to  an  inscription  over  the  portico  was 
erected  in  1775.  It  is  a  pretentious  structure,  of  carved  stone, 
and  its  massive  walls  were  intended  to  outlive  centuries.  The 
spacious  and  lofty  audience  chamber  in  which  the  governor 
received  official  delegations  and  entertained  his  constituents 
in  the  name  of  the  king  is  now  a  bar  and  billiard  room,  where 
a  considerable  portion  of  the  male  population  appear  to  pass 
their  evenings  drinking  beer  and  smoking  cigarettes. 

The  Plaza,  which  is  overlooked  by  the  windows  of  the 
hotel,  is  a  pretty  place,  with  a  fountain  from  which  many  of 
the  poorer  families  draw  their  daily  supply  of  water,  and  has  a 
number  of  well-kept  shrubs  and  plants.  Every  alternate  even- 
ing at  8  o'clock  a  military  band  plays  in  this  park,  and  the 
entire  population  turn  out  to  enjoy  the  music  and  promenade. 
It  is  almost  their  only  social  diversion,  as  opera  and  theatrical 
companies  very  seldom  take  the  trouble  to  come  so  far  as  La 
Paz,  and  the  exchange  of  hospitality  is  limited  chiefly  to  the 
men  folks.  On  each  alternate  night  the  band  plays  in  the 
Almeda,  a  handsome  promenade,  shaded  by  eucalyptus  trees 
and  furnished  with  rows  of  iron  benches.  This  is  the  most 
popular  resort  in  town,  and  Sunday  afternoon,  when  there  is 
no  bull  fight  or  horse  race,  everybody  comes  out  in  his  best 
garments  to  see  and  be  seen  and  gossip  with  his  neighbors. 

The  Bolivians  are  a  dressy  people  and  take  much  account 
of  their  apparel.  It  is  necessary  that  every  gentleman  should 
have  a  silk  hat  and  a  long  frock  coat,  which  he  wears  on  all 
occasions  of  ceremony,  and  particularly  when  he  promenades 
in  the  plaza  or  the  Almeda.  When  he  goes  to  a  wedding  or  a 
funeral  or  an  indoor  function  of  any  sort  whatever  by  night  or 
day  he  wears  a  swallowtail   coat,    a  low-cut   waistcoat,    an 


THE   CITY   OF   LA   PAZ  293 

embroidered  shirt  front,  and  a  large  white  tie.  His  boots  are 
of  patent  leather,  and  often  pinch  his  feet,  if  one  may  judge  by 
the  gingerly  way  in  which  he  picks  out  the  smooth  places  in 
the  pavement. 

When  a  young  man  falls  in  love  he  does  not  call  at  the 
home  of  his  inamorata,  but  writes  her  a  letter,  or  indites  a 
poem  to  her  eyebrow,  or  buys  a  bunch  of  flowers  in  an  elabor- 
ate cornucopia  of  lace  paper,  or  all  three,  and  sends  them 
through  one  of  the  servants  of  the  family.  And  when  he 
meets  her  in  the  Plaza  or  the  Almeda,  clinging  to  her  father's 
arm,  or  under  the  vigilant  chaperonage  of  her  mother,  he  casts 
lingering  glances  of  adoration  into  her  coal-black  eyes.  In  his 
letter  he  tells  her  that  he  will  promenade  the  pavement  oppo- 
site her  father's  house  at  3  o'clock  on  the  next  afternoon,  and 
if  she  shows  her  approval  of  his  attentions  by  presenting  her- 
self at  the  window  he  confides  his  love  to  his  father  or  some 
sympathetic  relative,  who  conveys  a  formal  proposal  of  mar- 
riage to  her  parents.  If  it  is  accepted  and  the  stipulations  are 
satisfactory,  he  is  allowed  to  call  upon  her,  but  her  mother  or 
some  duenna  is  always  present  during  his  visits,  and  the 
arrangements  for  the  wedding  follow  as  rapidly  as  possible. 

When  a  gentleman  desires  to  pay  a  social  call  upon  a 
family  of  his  acquaintance  he  must  first  ask  for  the  gentleman 
of  the  house,  and  if  he  is  not  at  home  the  visitor  must  leave 
cards  and  retire.  If  the  host  is  in  the  visitor  asks  permission 
to  see  the  ladies,  which  is  readily  granted,  but  it  would  be  the 
height  of  impropriety  to  ask  for  them  unless  the  husband  or 
father  is  at  home.  It  is  not  proper  even  for  a  doctor  to  see 
a  lady  patient  except  in  the  presence  of  her  husband  or  father 
or  brother. 

The  climate  of  La  Paz  is  very  trying  to  strangers  who  are 
not  accustomed  to  live  among  the  clouds,  and  particularly  to 
fat  people  and  cats.  Concerning  cats  I  speak  from  hearsay 
only.  I  have  had  no  opportunity  for  personal  investigation, 
but  have  been  informed  by  a  person  of  good  reputation  and 
respectable  connections  that  there  are  no  cats  in  Bolivia. 
When  I  repeated  this  novel  fact  to  another  gentleman  of  sim- 
ilar  social   standing   he    declared   that   it  was  a  three-story 


294    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

falsification ;  that  the  country  was  full  of  cats ;  that  they  stuck 
their  heads  out  of  every  doorway  and  sung  to  the  moon  every 
night  from  the  top  of  every  barnyard  fence;  but  when  I 
brought  the  two  eminent  authorities  together,  and  they  had 
argued  the  question  until  both  were  very  red  in  the  face  and 
had  lost  their  tempers  entirely,  the  man  who  asserted  that 
Bolivia  was  full  of  cats  was  reluctantly  compelled  to  admit 
that  he  had  never  seen  one  within  its  territorial  limits, 
although  he  stuck  to  it  stubbornly  that  there  were  millions  of 
them  in  the  mountains  of  Peru.  The  party  of  the  first  part, 
taking  advantage  of  the  concession,  then  declared  that  cats 
could  not  live  at  an  elevation  of  12,000  feet;  that  the  experi- 
ment had  been  tried  many  times  and  that  the  animals  invari- 
ably died  from  convulsions  when  taken  to  a  higher  altitude. 
I  leave  the  question  open  to  discussion  by  whom  it  may 
concern,  but  can  bear  testimony  that  I  saw  no  cats  in  Bolivia, 
although  they  may  be  as  numerous  and  as  active  as  more 
minute  members  of  animate  creation  which  make  themselves 
felt,  if  they  are  not  seen  or  heard. 

At  the  elevation,  12,250  feet  above  the  sea,  the  atmosphere 
of  La  Paz  is  so  rare  that  breathing  is  difficult,  and  persons 
afflicted  with  heart  disease  or  weak  lungs  or  a  superabundance 
of  flesh  must  avoid  exertion  as  much  as  possible.  The  veins 
in  your  head  feel  as  if  they  were  about  to  burst ;  you  pant  like 
a  tired  hound  as  you  climb  the  steep  streets  of  the  city  or  the 
stairway  of  the  hotel,  and  are  compelled  to  stop  every  few 
moments  to  rest  and  recover  your  breath.  There  are  sharp 
pains  in  the  lungs,  a  drowsiness  about  the  head  and  eyes,  and 
when  you  lie  down  to  sleep  at  night  your  heart  will  thump 
against  your  ribs  like  a  pile-driver.  Unless  you  are  careful 
you  will  bring  on  sirroche,  or  puna,  or  veta,  as  the  same 
disease  is  known  in  different  parts  of  the  Andes.  The 
Bolivian  name,  *'mareo  Montana,"  is  as  bad  as  an  Irish 
bull,  for,  literally  translated,  it  means  mountain  seasickness. 
Another  disease  that  is  due  to  the  altitude  is  sirumpe,  a 
violent  inflammation  of  the  nerves  of  the  eye  caused  by  the 
winds,  the  bright  rays  of  the  sun  and  the  rarefied  atmosphere. 
The  pain  is  intense  and  is  often  attended  by  delirium. 


THE   CITY   OF   LA   PAZ  295 

But  none  of  these  things  is  so  troublesome  as  the  cold. 
The  temperature  goes  as  high  as  80  and  82  degrees  at  noonday 
and  falls  to  19  and  20  degrees  at  night  in  winter,  and  during 
the  summer  months  the  extremes  are  almost  the  same.  The 
lowest  record  for  the  year  1899  was  19  degrees  above  zero. 
The  maximum  was  84.  The  temperature  often  varies  fifty  and 
sixty  degrees  in  twenty-four  hours  out  of  doors.  The 
extremes  are  less  inside  the  walls  of  the  houses,  which  are  so 
thick  that  the  heat  can  never  penetrate  them.  It  always 
seems  colder  indoors  than  out,  and  as  there  is  no  means  of 
warming  the  houses  by  stoves  or  furnaces  they  are  very 
uncomfortable.  Of  course  you  can  go  out  and  sit  in  the  park 
where  the  sun's  rays  may  strike  you,  or  you  can  drink  hot 
tea  and  other  beverages  which  are  supposed  to  increase  the 
temperature  of  the  blood  and  serve  the  purpose  of  a  fur-lined 
overcoat,  but  the  relief  is  only  temporary.  The  natives  pile 
on  ponchos  as  they  put  on  kimonos  in  Japan  and  stick  their 
benumbed  feet  into  muffs  made  of  wool  or  fur.  The  evenings 
are  particularly  disagreeable  in  this  respect.  We  lighted  all 
the  lamps  we  could  get,  regardless  of  the  extravagance,  for 
the  hotel  keeper  charged  sixty  cents  a  night  extra  for  each  of 
those  luxuries,  and  25  cents  for  candles;  we  put  on  our  over- 
coats and  hats,  wrapped  our  legs  up  in  fur  robes  and  huddled 
around  a  center  table  trying  to  be  amiable  and  happy,  but  it 
was  no  use.  The  only  warm  place  was  in  bed  between  the 
blankets.  When  we  were  invited  out  to  dinner  and  had  to 
put  on  our  evening  suits,  and  the  ladies  their  low-necked  and 
short-sleeved  dresses,  we  felt  as  if  we  might  perish  from  the 
cold  before  the  ordeal  was  over,  but  those  who  are  accustomed 
to  the  climate  live  along  without  appearing  to  notice  it. 

There  is  only  one  stove  in  La  Paz,  and  that  warms  the 
reception  room  of  the  American  legation.  Dr.  Bridgeman, 
our  minister,  brought  it  from  New  Jersey,  and  had  a  ton  of 
coal  shipped  up  there  from  the  railway  headquarters  at 
Arequipa.  There  is  no  other  fuel  in  the  city  except  llama 
dung,  which  is  picked  up  by  the  Indians  on  the  trails,  dried, 
brought  to  town  in  bags,  and  sold  at  the  rate  of  about  $2  a 
bushel.     The  natives  regard  Dr.  Bridgeman 's  stove  with  awe 


296   BETWEEN   THE  ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

and  apprehension,  as  if  it  were  an  infernal  machine.  They 
think  that  artificial  heat  is  unhealthy  and  poisons  the  air. 
Gas  stoves  are  useless,  for  there  is  no  gas.  The  streets  are 
lighted  with  electricity,  which  has  been  recently  introduced 
into  many  of  the  shops  and  houses. 

As  one  might  expect,  pulmonary  complaints  are  quite 
prevalent  and  pneumonia  is  almost  always  fatal.  Strangers 
are  cautioned  against  exposure  to  the  night  air  and  the  noon- 
day sun,  whose  fierce  rays  are  more  keenly  felt  through  the 
rarefied  atmosphere  and  are  apt  to  bring  on  sirumpe  or  moun- 
tain fever.  We  are  not  far  from  the  equator.  La  Paz  lies 
upon  the  sixteenth  parallel  of  latitude,  which  is  about  the 
same  as  Jamaica,  and  the  elevation  and  the  unusual  clearness 
of  the  atmosphere  cause  the  rays  of  the  sun  to  be  felt  more 
than  in  an  atmosphere  that  contains  moisture  and  at  the  level 
of  the  sea;  For  the  same  reasons  the  cold  is  less  severe.  The 
same  temperature  could  not  be  endured  in  a  moist  climate 
without  fires,  and,  curiously  enough,  although  the  mercury 
may  run  down  to  20  degrees  and  water  freeze  in  the  streets, 
plants  are  rarely  frost-bitten. 

The  people,  young  and  old,  are  terribly  afraid  of  the  moon. 
They  doubtless  have  caught  the  superstition  from  the  Indians, 
and  dread  exposure  to  its  rays  more  than  a  pestilence.  If  the 
moonlight  falls  upon  a  sleeping  person  he  is  sure  to  become 
insane;  if  a  "mild  beam"  strikes  a  baby  it  will  die  of  convul- 
sions before  the  month  is  gone ;  if  you  expose  your  face  to  the 
moon  you  will  have  neuralgia  or  the  toothache;  if  you  go 
bareheaded  in  the  moonlight  all  your  hair  will  fall  out,  and 
various  other  misfortunes  befall  those  who  are  so  imprudent 
as  to  expose  themselves  to  the  evil  influence  of  that  luminary. 
A  Bolivian  lover  would  sooner  surrender  a  year's  income  than 
take  a  moonlight  ramble  with  his  sweetheart  It  would  be 
equal  to  suicide.  Instead  of  waiting  for  a  full  moon  to  make 
a  journey,  as  we  often  do,  the  Bolivians  will  stay  at  home 
until  the  last  quarter.  Mrs.  Bandelier,  who  is  herself  an 
accomplished  ethnologist,  and  knows  the  ways  and  the  super- 
stitions of  the  aborigines  even  better  than  her  husband, 
explained  that  all  their  plans  and  arrangements  are  regulated 


THE   CITY  OF   LA   PAZ  297 

or  affected  in  some  manner  by  the  position  of  the  moon, 
and  she  believes  that  there  must  be  some  foundation  for  a 
superstition  that  is  so  fixed  and  general. 

The  Indians  of  Bolivia  drink  enormous  quantities  of  raw 
alcohol,  which  can  produce  intoxication  quicker  than  any  other 
kind  of  liquor.  They  also  drink  a  great  deal  of  chicha,  the 
native  beverage,  which  is  made  of  corn.  The  upper  classes 
drink  beer  and  keep  three  breweries  busy. 

There  are  several  newspapers  in  Bolivia,  but  they  are 
purely  political  and  literary.  Neither  of  them  receives  tele- 
graphic dispatches,  but  all  reprint  news  from  El  Commercio 
of  Lima  and  the  Valparaiso  papers. 

The  policemen  wear  scarlet  overcoats  with  hoods  which 
they  pull  over  their  heads  at  night  until  they  look  like  Mephis- 
topheles  in  the  opera.  They  do  not  patrol  the  streets,  but 
stand  at  the  corners,  and  every  fifteen  minutes  at  night  blow  a 
melancholy  strain  upon  a  whistle  to  show  that  they  are  awake. 
Then  they  change  places  with  each  other.  In  the  old-fash- 
ioned towns  of  the  interior  it  is  still  customary  for  the  police 
to  call  out  the  hours  at  night  and  their  voices  have  such  a 
melancholy  tone  that  they  sound  like  the  cry  of  a  lost  soul. 

' '  Sereno  -  o  -  o  -  o  •  o ,  Sereno  -  o  -  o  -  o  -  o ;  Las  diez  y  media  y 
Sereno-0-0-0."  (All's  well;  all's  well;  it  is  ten  and  a  lialf 
and  all  is  well.) 

There  is  very  little  disorder  in  La  Paz,  although  there  is 
an  unusual  amount  of  drunkenness  among  the  Indians.  Theie 
are  forty-nine  religious  and  five  political  holidays  each  year, 
besides  Sundays,  when  all  business  is  suspended  and  all  shops 
are  closed.  On  the  day  following  these  feasts,  and  usually 
upon  all  Mondays,  it  is  practically  impossible  to  get  any  woi  k 
done  because  the  entire  laboring  population  is  resting  up  after 
its  holiday. 

The  effect  of  the  frequent  revolutions  is  to  produce  a  large 
crop  of  young  officers  who  wear  brilliant  uniforms  and  look 
very  well  in  them.  The  trousers  are  scarlet,  with  blue  stripes 
along  the  seams,  and  the  jackets  are  of  dark  blue  cloth, 
embroidered  with  an  excessive  amount  of  gold  braid.  A 
lieutenant  in  the  Bolivian   army  wears   as  much  gold  braid 


298   BETWEEN   THE  ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

upon  his  jacket  and  cap  as  all  the  major-generals  in  the  United 
States  combined.  They  are  fine-looking  fellows,  these  young 
officers,  although  they  have  no  military  education  and  very 
little  experience.  An  appointment  in  the  army  is  the  ambi- 
tion of  every  young  man  of  good  family,  although  the  pay  is 
insignificant  and  they  have  to  be  supported  by  their  parents. 
The  recent  revolution  aroused  a  military  spirit  that  will  take  a 
long  time  to  subside. 

The  privates  are  almost  exclusively  Indians  or  half-breeds, 
short,  stocky  fellows,  beardless  and  broad  shouldered,  with 
great  powers  of  endurance  and  a  courage  and  stoicism  similar 
to  that  of  the  North  American  Indian.  They  belong  to  the 
Aymara  race,  and  their  ancestors  formed  a  part  of  the  Inca 
empire,  having  been  subjugated  by  the  Peruvians  200  or  300 
years  before  the  Spanish  invasion.  They  are  frugal  in  their 
habits  and  of  patient  disposition.  Their  food  consists  chiefly 
of  beans,  dried  peas,  parched  corn,  dried  potatoes  and  coca, 
which  they  chew  constantly.  The  coca  habit  among  the 
Bolivians  is  as  general  as  the  opium  habit  with  the  Chinese 
or  smoking  among  the  Irish.  It  is  very  seldom  that  the 
soldiers  can  read  or  write  and  they  live  without  any  ambition 
or  idea  of  advancement.  Whenever  they  get  an  opportunity 
they  give  themselves  up  to  intoxication,  but  in  the  barracks 
are  sober,  docile  and  industrious.  They  fight  on  either  side 
with  equal  energy,  they  have  no  idea  of  principle,  but  follow 
their  officers  with  blind  obedience  for  a  nominal  pay  of  $3  a 
month  in  silver  or  about  $1.50  in  our  money.  The  soldiers 
are  recruited  in  the  country  districts  or  impressed  into  the 
service  by  local  officials,  who  are  called  upon  each  year  to 
furnish  their  quota  for  the  national  guard,  although  conscrip- 
tion is  nominally  prohibited  by  the  constitution. 

One  Sunday  we  witnessed  a  military  mass.  There  are  no 
chaplains  attached  to  the  Bolivian  army,  but  whenever  it  is 
possible  on  Sunday  morning  the  soldiers  are  marched  to 
church.  On  Saturday  afternoon  they  are  marched  in  the  same 
manner  to  the  bank  of  the  river,  where  they  take  a  bath  and 
each  man  washes  his  other  shirt,  his  socks,  his  towel  and  his 
handkerchief  if  he  has  one,  in  the  cold  water.     This  ceremony 


Bolivian  Soldiers. 


THE   CITY   OF   LA   PAZ  299 

is  performed  with  the  same  demonstration  and  discipline  that 
attends  the  religious  service.  The  regiment  is  led  by  its  band 
through  the  principal  streets  of  the  city  and  carries  its  banners 
and  flags.  In  fact,  the  troops  seem  to  be  always  marching. 
At  almost  every  hour  of  the  day  you  can  hear  strains  of  martial 
music  from  one  direction  or  another. 

The  military  mass  was  celebrated  at  the  church  of  the 
Dominican  friars.  It  is  a  fashionable  place  of  worship,  and 
one  of  the  largest  in  the  city.  Behind  the  altar  rail  sat  a  group 
of  gentlemen,  including  the  members  of  the  junta  who  com- 
posed the  provisional  government  of  the  republic  until  a  new 
president  could  be  elected  in  October ;  the  commander  of  the 
garrison  of  La  Paz,  with  his  staff,  and  the  mayor  of  the  city, 
and  at  either  side  of  the  altar  stood  a  stalwart  soldier  support- 
ing the  colors  of  the  regiment.  Immediately  in  front  of  the 
rail  were  the  colonel  and  other  line  officers,  and  behind  them 
were  massed,  between  the  two  rows  of  big  pillars,  the  mem- 
bers of  the  entire  regiment,  about  800  men,  standing  twelve 
abreast  and  leaning  upon  their  muskets. 

On  either  side,  near  the  altar,  were  groups  of  kneeling 
women  from  the  fashionable  families  of  La  Paz,  with  their 
faces  and  figures  partially  concealed  by  mantas.  The  brilliant 
uniforms  of  the  officers,  the  golden  embroidery  on  their  sleeves 
and  breasts,  and  the  aiguilettes  that  hung  from  their  collars 
and  buttons,  their  erect  attitude  and  soldierly  bearing  com- 
bined to  afford  an  unusual  and  an  impressive  sight. 

Both  officers  and  men  stood  like  statues  through  the  entire 
service,  with  their  eyes  upon  the  officiating  priest.  At  the 
elevation  of  the  host  a  hoarse  order  to  present  arms  disturbed 
the  solemn  silence,  and  as  the  priest  lifted  the  chalice  that 
contained  the  emblems  the  sergeants  that  stood  each  side  of 
the  altar  dipped  their  colors,  every  officer  drew  his  sword  and 
stood  in  the  attitude  of  salute  and  the  musket  barrel  of  every 
soldier  was  held  parallel  to  his  nose.  The  next  instant  the 
regimental  trumpeters  sounded  the  salute  of  honor,  the 
drum  corps  beat  the  long  roll,  and  the  napkin  was  replaced 
upon  the  chalice  and  the  doors  of  the  tabernacle  were  closed. 

The  federal  building,  in  which  the  president  resides  and 


300   BETWEEN  THE  ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

where  his  ministers  have  their  offices,  is  a  modern  structure  of 
well-carved  stone,  three  stories  in  height,  and  fronts  the 
principal  plaza  of  La  Paz.  It  surrounds  a  large  courtyard  or 
patio  with  wide  galleries,  and  the  apartments  to  which  the 
public  are  admitted  are  high  and  spacious.  The  president's 
room  is  furnished  with  a  fine  lot  of  carved  furniture  and  gilt 
mirrors. 

The  congress  sits  in  an  old  Jesuit  monastery,  which  occu- 
pies another  side  of  the  plaza.  The  chamber  of  deputies  has 
the  chapel  and  the  senate  what  was  once  the  library  of  the 
monks. 

There  is  an  interesting  market  in  La  Paz.  It  is  open  daily 
for  trading  in  all  sorts  of  merchandise  of  domestic  manu- 
facture, but  on  Sundays  and  Wednesdays  the  Indians  come  in 
from  all  the  surrounding  country,  bringing  their  handiwork  as 
well  as  the  products  of  their  farms  and  gardens,  and  make  an 
attractive  display  of  ponchos,  blankets  and  other  homespun 
fabrics,  native  jewelry,  toys  and  trinkets  of  every  sort.  The 
Indian  women  are  very  ingenious  and  industrious,  and  have 
remarkable  taste  in  the  arrangement  of  colors  and  devising  of 
designs.  They  love  gay  colors  and  embroideries  and  wear 
quantities  of  other  adornments.  They  have  a  distinctive  cos- 
tume of  home  manufacture  which  the  dealers  in  imported 
goods  fortunately  have  not  been  able  to  disturb.  They  usually 
wear  a  little  panama  hat,  braided  of  soft  white  fiber,  with  a 
black  band  around  it,  similar  to  those  worn  by  men,  with  the 
exception  of  a  narrow  rim,  and  it  is  perched  jauntily  upon  their 
abundant  black  hair,  which  hangs  in  two  long  braids  down 
their  backs. 

Their  dresses  resemble  those  worn  by  the  peasants  in  the 
Tyrol.  The  skirts  are  of  gay  colors,  made  very  full  and 
smocked  from  the  waist  down  a  distance  of  six  inches,  and 
above  the  deep  hem  are  three  broad  tucks.  The  material, 
which  comes  from  the  native  looms,  resembles  canton  flannel 
with  the  fleecy  side  out,  and  velveteen  of  brilliant  hues  is  pop- 
ular, with  braid  in  rows  of  a  different  color.  The  skirt  is  very 
short,  hanging  above  the  shoetops  and  revealing  gay  hosiery 
and  native  shoes  of  bright-colored  leather,  with  long  laces  and 


THE   CITY  OF   LA   PAZ  301 

high  French  heels.  Sometimes  the  shoes  are  white,  sometimes 
yellow,  red  or  purple — the  brighter  the  better,  and  any  color 
except  black.  Under  the  skirt  are  an  indefinite  number  of 
white  petticoats,  elaborately  embroidered  and  edged  with  lace. 
The  waists  are  made  of  bright-colored  calico,  velveteen  and 
other  fabrics,  and  around  their  shoulders  they  wear  light 
shawls  or  scarfs  called  rebosas. 

Brass  or  silver  chains,  bracelets  of  hammered  silver,  copper, 
tortoise  shell  and  other  materials  encircle  the  wrists,  and  one 
or  more  rings  ornament  every  finger.  Their  earrings  are 
large  and  long,  usually  of  silver  gilt  set  with  cheap  stones, 
imitation  emeralds,  garnets  and  artificial  pearls. 

The  older  women  affect  colors  that  are  quite  as  gay  and 
usually  have  a  baby  swung  over  their  backs  in  a  shawl. 

The  girls  are  not  pretty,  but  many  are  attractive.  They 
have  bright  eyes,  even  white  teeth  and  a  good-natured  expres- 
sion. Their  complexions  are  clear  but  dark — copper-colored, 
like  the  squaw  of  the  American  Indians. 

The  shawl  is  usually  fastened  by  a  long  brass  stickpin,  and 
sometimes  several  of  them,  with  the  bowl  of  a  spoon  for  the 
head,  thereby  combining  ornament  and  utility.  Other  forms 
of  stickpins,  like  skewers,  are  also  used.  The  women  of  the 
interior  tribes  deface  their  teeth  by  filing  them  into  sharp 
points  and  setting  little  gems  into  the  surface,  as  the  women 
of  some  of  the  oriental  contries  do. 

The  men  always  go  barefooted  and  barelegged,  and  wear 
short  wide  trousers  of  some  dark  woolen  cloth  that  are  slit  up 
the  back  as  far  as  the  knee,  so  as  to  give  their  legs  freer  action 
in  climbing  the  mountain  trails.  Under  these  trousers  they 
have  white  cotton  drawers,  which  always  seem  to  be  clean  and 
well  laundered.  Upon  their  heads  they  wear  a  close-fitting 
cap  or  hood  of  knitted  work  or  some  dark  woolen  cloth  that  fits 
closely  down  over  the  ears  and  neck  like  the  hoods  children 
wear  in  cold  weather  in  New  England.  Upon  this  they  wear 
any  kind  of  a  hat  they  prefer,  of  straw  or  felt  or  any  other 
material,  while  their  shoulders  and  bodies  are  protected  by  the 
inevitable  poncho,  which  is  their  coat  by  day  and  their  blanket 
by  night,  a  comprehensive  as  well  as  a  comfortable  garment. 


302    BETWEEN   THE  ANDES   AND   THE  OCEAN 

The  poncho  dates  back  to  prehistoric  times,  and  the  ruler  of 
the  Inca  empire,  when  he  sat  upon  his  throne,  wore  one  woven 
of  the  silver  hair  of  the  vicuna.  The  ponchos  you  see  in  Peru 
are  of  somber  colors.  Those  worn  in  Bolivia  are  like  Joseph's 
coat,  of  many  colors,  and  the  most  brilliant  that  can  be  pro- 
cured. 

In  dealing  at  the  market  a  customer  is  not  expected  to  pay 
the  first  price  asked.  If  he  does  the  seller  will  be  much  disap- 
pointed, because  she  will  lose  the  opportunity  of  showing  her 
shrewdness  in  making  a  bargain. 

At  the  market  place  and  at  the  postoffice,  as  on  the  quays 
of  Constantinople  and  Alexandria,  are  professional  scribes, 
with  a  package  of  stationery  and  an  ink  bottle,  who  for  a  small 
fee  will  undertake  the  correspondence  of  those  who  lack  liter- 
ary gifts  or  whose  education  has  been  neglected. 

A  curious  commodity  that  enters  into  nearly  all  prepara- 
tions of  food  always  attracts  the  curiosity  of  travelers  who  visit 
the  Bolivian  markets.  It  is  preserved  potatoes,  cut  into  cubes 
or  slices  and  exposed  to  the  air  until  the  moisture  is  entirely 
evaporated.  The  chips  have  a  dry,  corky  appearance,  and  are 
almost  tasteless.  They  are  always  used  in  the  preparation  of 
*'chupe,"  the  national  dish,  which  is  usually  the  first  course  at 
both  breakfast  and  dinner. 

Salt  is  sold  in  cubes  about  the  size  of  building  bricks  used 
in  the  United  States,  being  pressed  into  shape  when  damp  and 
allowed  to  harden. 

The  Indians  of  the  interior  wear  shirts  and  hats  made  of 
the  bark  of  a  tree,  which  is  soaked  in  water  to  soften  the  fiber 
and  then  beaten  to  make  it  pliable. 

In  the  markets  and  at  the  shops  in  this  country  it  is  the 
habit  of  customers  to  demand  what  they  call  a  "yappa" — a 
present,  a  little  something  "to  boot."  If  you  buy  a  parcel  of 
vegetables  from  a  market  woman  she  must  throw  in  a  potato, 
an  onion  or  an  orange,  or  if  you  buy  a  dress  at  a  dry -goods 
store  you  expect  a  piece  of  ribbon  or  a  paper  of  pins.  The 
buyer  is  not  allowed  to  make  the  selection ;  the  seller  reserves 
that  privilege. 

The  ancient  bridges  found  in  Bolivia  are  exceedingly  sim- 


THE   CITY  OF   LA   PAZ  303 

pie  in  construction,  but  are  well  adapted  for  crossing  the  rapid 
streams  that  rush  down  from  the  Andes  and  defy  the  skill  of 
the  modern  engineer.  They  consist  of  strong  cables  of  the 
cabuya,  a  native  vine,  or  of  a  twisted  rawhide  stretched  from 
one  bank  to  the  other,  something  after  the  style  of  the  suspen- 
sion bridges  of  our  times.  Poles  were  lashed  transversely, 
covered  with  palm  leaves,  reeds,  split  bamboo  branches,  and 
these  were  again  covered  with  earth  and  stones  so  as  to  form  a 
solid  floor.  Other  cables  extended  along  the  sides,  which  were 
interwoven  with  similar  material  or  the  limbs  of  trees,  forming 
a  kind  of  wicker  balustrade.  In  some  cases  the  mode  of  transit 
was  a  basket  or  car  suspended  on  a  single  cable  and  drawn 
from  side  to  side  with  ropes.  One  would  think  that  bridges  of 
this  description  would  not  be  very  enduring,  yet  those  exist 
which  are  said  to  have  been  constructed  by  the  Incas  more 
than  400  years  ago. 

' '  I  hope  you  will  go  to  the  bullfight  this  afternoon, ' '  said  a 
young  woman  with  a  pleasant  face  as  I  passed  her  on  the  gallery 
of  the  hotel  at  La  Paz,  "because  I'm  an  American  from  New 
York,  and  my  husband  is  the  chief  matador.  He  is  a  Span- 
iard, and  we  have  been  fighting  like  everything  ever  since  the 
war  with  Spain  began,  for  I  had  to  stick  up  for  my  country, 
and  he  had  to  stick  up  for  his,  and  wasn't  it  great  that  we 
whipped?  I  don't  know  what  I  should  have  done  if  the 
Spaniards  had  won  at  Santiago !  My  husband  was  certain  they 
would,  and  I  was  terribly  nervous;  but  didn't  Sampson  and 
Dewey  give  it  to  them,  though?  I  teased  my  husband  about 
it  so  much  that  he  was  mad  for  a  week,  and  then  the  news- 
papers down  here  were  all  on  the  side  of  Spain,  every  one  of 
them,  and  he'd  read  me  pieces  every  morning  telling  what 
cowards  the  Yankees  were,  and  how  easily  the  Spaniards  were 
going  to  do  them  np,  but  I  told  him  to  just  wait  and  see.  I 
was  awfully  scared  all  the  same.  I  didn't  know  what  might 
happen,  and  almost  everybody  was  against  me,  but  I  kept  my 
mouth  shut,  and  then  when  we  whipped  them  I  had  the  talk 
all  to  myself.  My  husband  and  his  Spanish  friends  were  so 
disgusted  and  astonished  that  they  couldn't  say  a  word.  They 
didn't  dream  it  would  be  so  easy,  nor  did  I,  either,  but  I  rubbed 


304   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

it  into  them  good,  I  can  tell  you ;  and  you  will  come  to  the 
bullfight,  won't  you,  if  it's  only  because  I'm  an  American? 
My  husband  will  be  proud  to  have  you,  and  the  papers  say 
he's  the  best  matador  in  South  America.  There  isn't  another 
that  can  touch  him,  for  he's  had  the  best  training  a  man  can 
get  in  Spain,  and  he's  awfully  handsome.  You  must  have 
noticed  him  about  the  hotel,"  and  so  the  bullfighter's  wife 
prattled  on  in  a  pleasant  way  about  her  novel  experience  and 
her  admiration  for  the  man  who  had  made  a  romance  of  her 
life. 

She  was  a  New  York  girl,  and  had  married  him  in  Lima 
against  the  wishes  of  her  family ;  and  contrary  to  their  gloomy 
predictions  he  had  turned  out  to  be  the  most  devoted  of  hus- 
bands and  she  had  been  "awfully  happy"  with  him. 

I  met  the  paragon  a  few  moments  afterward,  and  in  most 
elaborate  phrases  he  expressed  the  honor  he  would  feel  if  we 
would  attend  the  bullfight.  He  looked  like  Louis  James  used 
to  look  when  he  was  younger — a  frank,  open-faced  fellow,  with 
a  pleasant  smile  and  a  pair  of  innocent  brown  eyes  that  seemed 
incapable  of  cruelty.  He  said  that  he  already  had  ordered  a 
box  reserved  for  our  party,  and  would  kill  the  third  bull  before 
it  in  our  honor. 

Bullfighting  in  Bolivia,  as  in  Spain,  is  the  national  amuse- 
ment, and  calls  out  about  the  same  degree  of  enthusiasm  as  a 
football  game  in  the  States.  The  authorities  of  the  munici- 
pality preside  over  the  function,  and  the  mayor  of  the  city  sits 
in  the  most  conspicuous  box  with  a  trumpeter  by  his  side  to 
direct  the  performance.  They  do  not  permit  horses  to  be 
gored,  as  in  Spain  and  Mexico,  and  when  the  cruel  amusement 
has  continued  long  enough  the  trumpet  sounds  and  the  mata- 
dor is  obliged  to  dispatch  the  panting  animal  with  as  much 
mercy  and  skill  as  possible. 

The  bull  ring  occupies  the  summit  of  one  of  the  many  hills 
that  are  covered  by  the  city  of  La  Paz,  and  overlooks  a  large 
area  of  picturesque  roofs  of  red  tile.  It  is  a  circle  of  adobe 
wall  about  200  feet  in  diameter,  inclosed  with  terraced  benches 
that  are  sheltered  by  a  roof  of  galvanized  iron.  The  woodwork 
is  roughly  made,  but  it  answers  the  purpose.     Over  the  main 


THE   CITY   OF   LA   PAZ  305 

entrance  is  the  mayor's  box,  ornamented  by  the  national  col- 
ors, and  beside  it  was  stationed  a  military  band  which  enter- 
tained the  audience  during  the  intervals  between  the  forays. 
The  audience  was  not  large,  and  was  mostly  assembled  on  the 
shady  side  of  the  amphitheater.  The  sunny  seats,  which  are 
sold  at  half  price,  although  they  are  more  comfortable  than  the 
others,  were  occupied  by  soldiers,  street  gamins,  and  peons, 
who  wore  bright-colored  ponchos.  Among  the  better  class  of 
the  audience  were  many  children,  and  even  babies — the  same 
kind  of  people  that  one  sees  at  a  circus  at  home. 

His  honor,  the  alcalde  Senor  Zuazo,  was  late,  and  when  he 
entered  his  box  the  audience  manifested  satisfaction  by  clap- 
ping their  hands,  while  the  urchins  on  the  other  side  shouted, 
"Fine  him,"  and  made  other  disrespectful  remarks.  As  this 
august  official  took  a  seat  with  great  dignity  the  trumpeter  at 
his  side  sounded  a  signal.  The  doors  swung  open  and  the 
troop  of  performers  entered  with  Francisco  Palomar,  or  "Caro- 
Chico"  (Little  Love),  as  he  is  familiarly  known,  at  the  head. 
He  had  six  companions,  picadores  and  banderilleros,  clad  in 
gorgeous  costumes  elaborately  embroidered  in  silver  and  gold. 
They  wore  cocked  hats,  and  wigs  and  cues  that  hung  down 
between  their  shoulders,  silk  stockings  of  different  colors  and 
slippers  with  big  silver  buckles,  such  as  you  see  in  pictures. 
The  band  played  a  triumphal  march  as  the  party  posed  in  the 
center  of  the  ring  and  bowed  in  acknowledgment  of  the  plau- 
dits. According  to  the  posters  it  was  a  "Gran  competencia  de 
los  valientes  Matadores  Caro-Chico  y  Cuqui.  Se  lidaran  6 
hermosos  y  bravos  toros  escogidos  y  probados  escrupulosa- 
mente  para  esta  corrida,"  which  in  short  means  that  Caro- 
Chico  would  compete  with  Cuqui  and  the  great  company  of 
matadors  would  fight  six  brave  and  beautiful  bulls  which  had 
been  scrupulously  selected  for  that  occasion. 

After  salutes  and  salutations  had  been  exchanged  between 
the  performers  and  the  audience,  Caro-Chico  stepped  forward 
and  made  a  low  bow  to  the  mayor.  The  latter  acknowledged 
the  salute  with  impressive  dignity,  and  nodded  to  the  trum- 
peter, who  blew  a  triumphant  blast.  The  gates  opened  and  a 
big  black  bull  which  was  named  on  the  programme  as  *'quita 


3o6   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

penas"  rushed  into  the  ring.  He  stopped  at  the  center,  stared 
around  in  wonder  at  the  surprising  spectacle,  then  turned  tail 
and  ran  back  to  the  entrance  trying  to  return  to  the  stable.  It 
was  evident  that  he  did  not  intend  to  fight,  and  the  crowd 
shouted  in  derision.  The  picadores  came  out  to  tease  him, 
and  the  frightened  animal  dodged  them  the  best  he  could. 
When  the  banderilleros,  with  handsomely  decorated  darts  in 
their  hands,  came  forward  the  bull  ran  around  the  ring  trying 
to  avoid  them  and  looking  anxiously  for  shelter.  The  audience 
roared  with  ridicule  and  hissed  like  a  lot  of  lunatics.  They 
shouted  instructions  to  the  alcalde,  who  good-naturedly 
accepted  their  verdict  and  ordered  the  trumpeter  to  sound  a 
recall.  The  cowardly  animal  was  turned  out,  and  the  mata- 
dores  and  picadores  crossed  their  legs  and  rested. 

In  a  few  seconds  the  trumpet  sounded  again,  and  in  rushed 
another  bull,  black  and  white,  much  smaller  than  the  other, 
and  with  a  good  deal  more  temper.  He  pawed  the  dust  in  the 
center  of  the  ring  and  looked  savage,  but  the  picadores  played 
with  him  without  the  slightest  fear  of  danger,  flapped  their 
scarlet  cloaks  under  his  nose  and  touched  his  horns  with  their 
hands.  An  agile  fellow  faced  him  for  a  moment  and  then 
plunged  a  couple  of  sticks  with  iron  barbs  and  tissue-paper 
fringe  into  his  sides.  The  bull  snorted  and  shook  his  frame  in 
a  frantic  way,  plunging  in  one  direction  and  then  in  another, 
but  could  not  shake  them  off.  For  ten  minutes  or  more  his 
tormentors  teased  him,  until  his  dripping  sides  were  almost 
hidden  with  the  cruel  darts.  Then  Caro-Chico  appealed  to  the 
alcalde  for  permission  to  kill  him. 

Drawing  his  long  sword  the  matador  approached  the  frantic 
animal  with  the  weapon  concealed  under  his  scarlet  cloak. 
The  bull  followed  him  with  terrified  eyes  and  made  two  or 
three  attacks  which  the  matador  gracefully  evaded.  Then, 
looking  the  animal  squarely  in  the  face,  as  if  to  hypnotize  him, 
and  muttering  something  in  a  low  tone,  he  darted  forward  and 
buried  his  sword  in  the  beast's  heart.  The  blood  gushed  from 
the  animal's  mouth  and  nostrils,  and  with  a  piteous  groan  he 
sunk  upon  his  knees  and  rolled  over  upon  the  crimson  pool. 

The  audience  screamed  with  admiration,  and  many  threw 


'^y^ 


'(!/,"• 


"-•i^x    «;^ 


Caro   Chico — the  Bull  Fighte7\ 


THB 

UNIVER3ITT 


THE   CITY  OF  LA   PAZ  307 

their  hats  at  the  matador,  which  is  the  highest  tribute  of 
applause.  Caro-Chico  picked  them  up  one  after  another  and 
gravely  bowed  as  he  tossed  them  back  to  their  owners.  Mean- 
time a  half  a  dozen  peons  with  a  team  of  mules  decorated  with 
Bolivian  colors  appeared  in  the  ring,  and,  hitching  a  rope 
around  the  horns  of  the  dead  animal,  hauled  the  carcass  out  of 
sight  and  sprinkled  sand  over  the  bloody  spot  where  it  had 
fallen. 

"The  intrepido  perdigon,"  as  the  next  animal  was 
announced  upon  the  programme,  had  no  spunk  at  all,  and  ran 
away  from  his  tormentors  until  the  crowd  demanded  better 
sport,  and  the  alcalde  ordered  the  door  opened  and  the  animal 
put  out.  The  fourth  was  a  little  red  fellow  called  "calsetero," 
and  he  plunged  from  one  side  of  the  ring  to  the  other  as  if  he 
intended  to  tear  everything  to  pieces.  There  was  more  fight 
in  him  and  more  fury  than  in  either  of  the  others,  and  it 
required  all  of  the  agility  of  the  banderilleros  to  keep  free  of 
his  horns,  but,  after  a  time,  when  he  showed  signs  of  fatigue, 
the  second  matador,  Francisco  Espinoso,  whose  stage  name  is 
**Cuqui,"  came  forward  at  a  signal  from  the  alcalde  and 
attempted  to  dispatch  him,  but  his  sword  struck  the  shoulder- 
bone  and  only  went  in  half  way.  The  bull  snorted  and 
plunged  until  he  shook  it  out.  One  of  the  picadores  recov- 
ered the  weapon  from  the  dust  and  returned  it  to  Cuqui,  who 
tried  a  second  and  even  a  third  time  before  he  killed  the 
animal. 

Meantime  the  audience  became  furious  with  contempt  and 
disgust,  and  raged  as  a  North  American  audience  often  does 
at  a  baseball  game  when  they  don't  like  a  decision  of  the 
umpire.  They  called  Cuqui  a  butcher,  and  demanded  that  he 
should  be  put  out ;  they  threw  orange  peel  and  beer  bottles  at 
him,  and  no  form  of  ridicule  or  contempt  was  lost  in  the 
excitement  that  followed.  The  culprit  endeavored  to  preserve 
his  composure  and  show  his  indifference,  but  he  was  not  very 
successful. 

The  raid  continued  until  another  little  black  bull  called 
"burraquito"  was  admitted  to  the  amphitheater  and  was  fol- 
lowed by  one  of  the  banderilleros  on  horseback  dressed  up  like 


3o8    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

a  countryman  or  what  our  boys  would  call  a  "jay."  This  bit 
of  comedy  was  not  very  successful,  for,  as  was  afterward 
explained,  the  bull  had  been  raised  in  the  same  pasture  with  a 
lot  of  horses  and  was  utterly  indifferent  to  them.  The  horse- 
man, however,  galloped  around  the  ring  with  darts  in  his 
hands  and  plunged  them  with  great  skill  into  the  neck  and 
shoulders  of  the  animal,  which  pawed  the  dust  and  tried  to 
shake  them  out  and  kicked  at  the  horse,  but  would  not  gore 
him.  The  young  man  ventured  too  far,  however,  at  one  time 
and  was  thrown  from  his  saddle,  which  created  a  little  excite- 
ment, but  no  harm  was  done,  and  as  the  horse  was  not  blind- 
folded he  was  able  to  take  care  of  himself. 

Then,  at  a  signal  from  the  alcalde,  all  the  other  performers 
retired  and  left  Caro-Chico  alone  in  the  amphitheater.  He 
came  across  to  where  we  were  sitting,  tossed  his  hat  into  our 
box,  made  a  graceful  bow  and  said  in  Spanish : 

*'For  the  honor  of  yourself  and  family." 

By  this  time  the  animal  was  frantic  with  fright  and  pain, 
and  as  Caro-Chico  approached  him  made  a  terrific  plunge. 
The  bullfighter  turned  his  back  upon  the  animal  and  started 
to  run  away,  but  was  not  quick  enough.  One  of  the  sharp 
horns  caught  in  the  seat  of  his  trousers  and  tore  quite  a  rent. 
With  marvelous  agility  Caro-Chico  turned,  placed  one  hand 
upon  the  horn  of  the  animal  and  vaulted  out  of  danger,  but  it 
was  a  narrow  escape,  and  he  left  one  of  his  slippers  lying  on 
the  sand.  The  bull  sniffed  at  it  and  pawed  it  with  his  hoof, 
while  Caro-Chico  removed  the  other  slipper,  acknowledged  the 
excited  demonstrations  of  the  audience,  nodded  to  us  as  much 
as  to  say,  "I  am  doing  my  best  to  entertain  you,"  and  then 
returned  to  his  work.  There  was  some  skillful  and  reckless 
play.  The  audience  held  its  breath  at  the  audacity  of  the  per- 
former, who  seemed  absolutely  fearless  and  to  delight  in  the 
most  dangerous  encounters  with  the  infuriated  animal.  When 
the  trumpet  sounded  he  calmly  turned  toward  the  alcalde  and 
acknowledged  obedience,  although  the  bull's  horns  were  within 
an  inch  or  two  of  his  side. 

He  stepped  quickly  to  a  box  in  which  his  American  wife 
was  sitting  and  received  from  her  hands  a  long,  new  sword, 


Dr.  Alonzo,  late  President  of  Bolivia. 


THE   CITY  OF   LA  PAZ  309 

which  he  concealed  under  the  folds  of  his  scarlet  cloak  as  he 
returned  to  the  center  of  the  ring,  where  the  bull  stood  pant- 
ing and  pawing  the  ground.  Like  a  panther  Caro-Chico  slowly- 
approached  his  prey  with  his  eyes  fastened  upon  those  of  the 
animal.  There  was  a  quick  flash  of  the  blade  and  all  was  over. 
The  bull  dropped  like  a  lump  of  lead.  In  obedience  to  custom 
Caro-Chico  came  to  the  front  of  our  box  and  bowed,  and  I 
tossed  his  hat  back  to  him  with  an  honorarium  concealed  under 
the  sweatband. 

Another  bull  was  brought  into  the  ring  and  Espinoso  made 
another  bad  break,  to  the  intense  indignation  of  the  audience, 
who  were  mad  enough  to  mob  him.  He  drove  his  sword 
entirely  through  the  animal,  but  missed  the  heart,  and  the  poor 
creature  plunged  around  the  ring,  leaving  a  stream  of  blood 
upon  the  ground,  until  one  of  the  other  performers  crept  up 
behind  and  drove  a  dagger  into  its  brain. 

As  the  trumpet  sounded  for  the  last  bull  the  urchins  on  the 
sunny  side  of  the  amphitheater  tumbled  over  the  railing  into 
the  ring  and  made  themselves  and  the  audience  merry  by  teas- 
ing the  poor  animal,  which  had  large  rubber  knobs  upon  his 
horns,  so  that  it  could  not  injure  them.  Their  antics  were 
amusing  and  the  regular  performers  stood  by  to  interfere  in 
case  the  youngsters  needed  assistance,  but  the  bull  was  neither 
active  nor  ugly,  and  stood  entirely  upon  the  defensive.  This 
we  found  to  be  the  custom  of  the  country.  The  amateurs,  the 
urchins  who  are  ambitious  to  be  bullfighters,  are  allowed  an 
opportunity  at  ever/  performance. 


XX 

POLITICAL  AND  SOCIAL  CONDITIONS  IN   BOLIVIA 

None  of  all  the  list  of  civilized  countries  in  the  geography 
is  so  isolated  and  antiquated  as  Bolivia.  Situated  in  the  cen- 
ter of  the  continent  at  an  average  elevation  of  12,000  feet  above 
the  sea,  with  150  miles  of  desert  and  a  range  of  snowclad  peaks 
between  its  territory  and  the  Pacific,  and  another  range  of 
mountains  and  an  impenetrable  forest  1,000  miles  deep  on  the 
other,  with  no  railways,  no  telegraphs  except  a  single  wire 
erected  by  the  government  for  military  purposes  and  seldom 
capable  of  service,  with  a  mail  that  is  brought  on  muleback 
once  a  week  or  less  frequently  to  its  principal  cities,  and  a 
general  hostility  to  progress,  to  modern  sciences  and  all  inno- 
vations, what  else  could  you  expect? 

Some  years  ago  the  province  of  La  Paz,  which  lies  at  the 
northern  end  of  the  republic  and  adjoins  Peru,  was  invaded  by 
Yankee  enterprise.  A  railway  was  built  from  the  seacoast  to 
Lake  Titicaca,  and  a  line  of  steamers  placed  upon  its  myste- 
rious waters.  Since  then  La  Paz  has  made  gradual  progress, 
and  is  now  the  most  populous  and  the  most  progressive  of  the 
nine  departments.  Indeed,  modern  ideas  prevail  in  no  other 
part  of  the  country.  The  remainder  of  the  population  still 
live  in  the  sixteenth  century,  under  the  influence  of  a  few  fam- 
ilies of  the  old  Spanish  aristocracy,  who  have  kept  their  blood 
uncontaminated  and  are  very  rich,  very  proud  and  very  con- 
servative. They  abide  at  Sucre,  Cochabamba,  Potosi  and  other 
cities  of  the  interior ;  they  own  the  haciendas  and  the  mines ; 
they  hate  foreigners,  resist  innovations  and  are  sufficient  unto 
themselves,  contented  with  their  own  ignorance  and  isolation. 
They  hold  the  Indians  in  a  form  of  servitude  like  the  feudal 
system  of  the  middle  ages  in  Europe. 

Thus  a  few  families,  rich,  exclusive  and  autocratic,  have 

310 


o 


tTNIVERSITT 


POLITICAL  CONDITIONS   IN   BOLIVIA         311 

for  many  years  controlled  the  government,  and  have  kept  the 
country  in  subjection  and  resisted  every  form  of  progress. 
Francisco  Argendona,  for  example,  one  of  the  wealthiest  men 
in  America,  controls  the  banking  privileges  of  Bolivia.  Ani- 
cito  Arce,  his  brother-in-law,  owns  the  Huanchaca  silver 
mines,  which  are  said  to  be  the  richest  in  the  world,  and  other 
families  of  similar  influence  and  position  make  up  the  little 
faction  and  have  intermarried  so  frequently  that  their  interests 
aie  mutual  and  they  form  a  single  family. 

Naturally,  this  state  of  affairs  could  not  exist  without  pro- 
voking friction.  Ambitious  men  who  are  not  admitted  to  the 
chosen  circle,  and  the  progressive  element,  which  has  been 
01  ganized  under  the  name  of  the  liberal  party,  has  kept  up 
a  continual  protest.  But  it  was  useless.  The  clerical  oi-  con- 
servative party  had  behind  it  the  army,  the  treasury  and  the 
executive  power,  and  what  was  even  more  important,  the 
electoral  machinery,  and  controlled  the  congress  and  the 
courts.  In  Bolivia  suffrage  is  limited  to  property  owners.  A 
man  must  have  an  income  of  $200  a  year  before  he  can  vote, 
and  that  is  a  good  deal  of  money  in  a  society  so  primitive  as 
we  find  here  in  the  mountains.  There  is  also  an  educational 
test,  and  the  school  privilege  is  limited  to  the  aristocracy. 
The  president  appoints  the  judges  of  the  courts,  the  governors 
and  all  the  other  influential  officials  of  the  provinces,  the  arch- 
bishop, the  bishops  and  the  other  prelates  of  the  church,  and 
the  clergy  are  assigned  to  parishes  under  his  supervision,  and 
their  salaries  are  paid  from  the  public  treasury  upon  his  war- 
rant Hence  theie  is  centralized  in  him  an  authority  and  an 
influence  as  gieat  as  is  exercised  by  any  absolute  monarch. 

There  has  been  a  long  fight  over  the  location  of  the  capital, 
which  in  the  days  of  Spanish  occupation  was  fixed  at  Sucre,  an 
old-fashioned  town  in  the  far  interior,  which  has  made  no  prog- 
ress for  a  century  and  is  now  as  far  behind  the  times  as  any 
town  in  the  interior  of  China.  As  a  consolation  to  the  pro- 
gressive element  a  law  was  passed  some  years  ago  permitting 
the  president  and  his  ministers  to  reside  elsewhere  and  author- 
izing him  to  convoke  congress  wherever  in  his  judgment  was 
most  convenient.     Under  this  provision  La  Paz  has  been  the 


312    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

actual,  although  Sucre  is  still  the  legitimate,  capital  of  the 
republic;  but  last  winter  the  conservative  element,  having 
become  dissatisfied  with  the  preference  shown  to  that  city,  and 
fearing  the  effect  of  modern  ideas  and  foreign  immigration 
upon  their  exclusive  policy,  passed  a  law  requiring  the  presi- 
dent and  his  cabinet  to  maintain  the  seat  of  government 
permanently  at  Sucre,  which  can  be  reached  only  after  nine 
days'  ride  on  muleback  from  La  Paz,  and  is  separated  from 
the  ports  on  the  Pacific  Ocean  by  both  ranges  of  the  Andes. 

When  this  vote  was  taken  the  seventeen  members  of  the 
chamber  of  deputies  from  the  department  of  La  Paz  retired 
from  congress  and  returned  to  their  homes,  where  a  public 
meeting  was  held  and  resolutions  of  protest  adopted.  They 
objected  to  Sucre,  because  of  its  location  and  inaccessibility, 
and  insisted  that  the  seat  of  government  should  remain  at  La 
Paz,  where  it  had  been  located  almost  constantly  since  railway 
communication  was  opened  with  the  outside  world.  The 
president.  Dr.  Alonzo,  being  a  conservative  and  a  member  of 
the  little  ring  of  aristocrats  that  had  placed  him  in  power,  was 
living  at  La  Paz,  and  made  preparations  to  remove  the  seat 
of  government.  He  was  warned  that  if  he  did  so  he  would 
meet  with  violent  resistance,  and  very  soon  a  revolution  was 
declared.  The  department  of  La  Paz,  which  is  the  most  pro- 
gressive and  the  most  populous  of  the  entire  country,  and  from 
which  more  than  a  half  of  the  public  revenue  is  derived,  was 
united  in  the  opposition,  and  received  the  support  of  the  liberal 
element  throughout  the  entire  country.  At  the  same  time  the 
leaders  of  the  revolution  adopted  the  dangerous  expedient  of 
arming  the  Indians,  who  were  in  a  general  state  of  discontent 
because  of  excessive  taxation,  the  laws  of  peonage,  the  rule 
which  required  them  to  work  on  the  roads  without  compensa- 
tion, and  a  natural  tendency  to  restlessness.  Until  then  the 
Indians  were  prohibited  from  carrying  arms,  and  the  sale  of 
ammunition  was  a  monopoly  of  the  government. 

]os6  Manuel  Pando,  a  colonel  of  engineers,  who  had  been 
involved  in  several  unsuccessful  revolutions  attempted  by  the 
liberal  party  in  the  past,  who  had  spent  a  considerable  part  of 
his  life  in  exile  at  Panama,  Valparaiso  and  Buenos  Ayres,  and 


POLITICAL   CONDITIONS   IN   BOLIVIA         313 

j  whose  ideas  were  very  much  in  advance  of  the  party  in  power, 
was  selected  as  leader  and  placed  in  command  of  the  army. 
President  Alonzo  made  a  very  weak  resistance.  There  was 
a  good  deal  of  marching  and  plundering  and  guerrilla  warfare 
by  both  armies,  but  only  one  pitched  battle,  which  was  fought 
in  April,  1899,  with  extraordinary  slaughter,  and  resulted  in 
an  overwhelming  victory  for  Pando  and  the  revolutionary 
forces.  Alonzo' s  soldiers  who  were  not  left  dead  upon  the 
battlefield  scattered  in  squads  throughout  the  country.  Many 
of  them  were  overtaken  and  massacred  by  the  Indian  allies,  and 
the  stories  told  of  their  barbarities  are  almost  beyond  belief. 

It  will  depend  largely  upon  the  tact  and  prudence  of 
Colonel  Pando  whether  liberal  ideas  are  hereafter  to  prevail 
in  Bolivia.  He  is  placed  in  a  very  difficult  position,  but  is 
said  to  be  a  cool-headed,  conscientious  and  broad-minded  man. 
Although  without  experience  in  civil  administration,  he  has 
had  an  opportunity  to  observe  the  conduct  of  affairs  in  several 
foreign  countries,  and  is  said  to  be  gifted  with  a  great  deal  of 
common  sense.  He  has  a  mongrel  lot  of  material  to  deal  with 
in  making  up  his  government,  and  there  his  greatest  difficulty 
lies,  but  the  autocratic  power  that  is  allowed  the  president  of 
Bolivia  will  enable  him  to  keep  a  tight  grasp  upon  all  local 
affairs  himself. 

Another  great  danger  lies  in  the  restlessness  of  the  Indians. 
They  present  a  very  serious  problem.  Although  the  Spaniards 
have  possessed  this  soil  for  three  centuries  and  a  half  and  have 
held  them  in  subjection  and  servitude,  they  do  not  forget  that 
their  fathers  were  once  lords  of  the  land  and  that  the  earth 
was  moistened  with  their  blood  before  it  was  stolen  from  them. 
Nor  have  they  abandoned  their  ancient  pagan  rites,  but  still 
observe  them  with  scrupulous  fidelity.  They  dream  of  a  time 
when  the  Spanish  intruders  shall  be  expelled,  when  their 
ancestral  acres  shall  be  restored  to  them,  and  when  members 
of  their  own  race  shall  be  elevated  to  power.  One  of  the 
favorite  occupations  of  the  shamen,  or  priests,  on  their  festival 
days,  is  to  proclaim  prophecies  concerning  the  restoration  of 
the  Inca  empire,  and  they  make  no  secret  of  their  hostility  to 
white  men  and  foreigners  generally.    They  have  secret  organ- 


314   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

izations  which  even  catholic  priests  of  their  own  race  are  not 
allowed  to  penetrate,  because  the  leaders  are  aware  that  the 
latter  owe  a  higher  obligation  to  the  church,  and  the  church 
has  always  been  a  part  of  the  government.  Their  sorcerers 
and  caciques,  or  native  priests,  constantly  teach  sedition,  and 
the  attitude  of  every  Indian  toward  the  government  is  that  of 
insolent  hostility,  no  matter  who  is  in  power. 

During  the  recent  revolution  many  unauthorized  promises 
were  made  to  the  Indians  by  local  leaders  in  order  to  secure 
their  aid  for  the  liberal  movement,  and  most  of  them  it  will 
be  impossible  for  the  new  administration  to  fulfill.  At  the 
same  time  the  Indians  learned  several  valuable  lessons  in  that 
brief  experience,  which  will  seriously  affect  their  future  con- 
duct. In  the  first  place  they  became  aware  of  their  own 
power,  of  which  previously  they  had  only  an  imperfect  con- 
ception. In  the  second  place  they  have  enjoyed  immunity 
from  punishment  for  the  horrible  outrages  and  excesses  they 
committed.  They  have  not  been  punished  for  murder  nor 
compelled  to  restore  stolen  property,  which  is  a  most  danger- 
ous precedent,  and  they  attribute  it  to  the  timidity  and  impo- 
tence of  their  white  rulers.  In  the  third  place,  they  have 
obtained  arms  for  the  first  time  in  their  lives,  and  a  rifle  is 
now  concealed  in  nearly  every  Indian  cabin.  They  have  very 
little  ammunition,  and  it  will  be  difficult  for  them  to  obtain 
more ;  nor  have  they  any  experience  with  the  use  of  firearms, 
but  they  are  quick  to  learn  and  very  shrewd  in  accomplishing 
their  designs. 

Jos^  Manuel  Pando  resembles  General  Grant  in  appear- 
ance and  manners.  He  is  a  stolid,  stubborn  man,  so  self- 
contained,  silent  and  immovable  that  they  call  him  the  sphinx, 
and  when  I  asked  one  of  the  best-posted  men  in  the  city  what 
line  of  policy  the  new  president  would  probably  follow,  he 
replied : 

"All  of  Jos6  Manuel's  secrets  are  kept  under  Jos^  Manuel's 
hat.  You  won't  find  them  anywhere  else.  He  has  no 
confidants. ' ' 

Colonel  Pando  is  built  of  bone  and  muscle,  a  short,  solid, 
athletic  man,   without  an  ounce  of  superfluous  flesh,  accus- 


Patio  of  a  Bolivian  Residence. 


^^^    OS  TSB 

UNIVERSITT 

£?  CALIFQ^ 


POLITICAL   CONDITIONS   IN   BOLIVIA         315 

tomed  to  hardships,  fond  of  frugal  living,  and  a  great  capacity 
for  physical  endurance,  for  he  has  spent  the  major  portion  of 
his  life  since  he  became  a  man  campaigning  in  the  mountains 
and  exploring  the  wilderness  on  the  east  slope  of  the  Andes. 
His  face  is  intelligent,  but  wears  a  serious,  imperturbable 
expression.  He  is  without  sense  of  humor,  his  social  qualities 
are  not  strongly  developed  and  he  has  never  been  accustomed 
to  pleasure.  His  eyes  are  small  and  alert,  his  profile  is  finely 
cut  and  his  hair  and  beard  are  so  closely  trimmed  that  no  out- 
line of  his  head  or  face  is  concealed.  He  wears  a  snug-fitting 
undress  uniform — a  sack  coat  of  blue,  closely  buttoned,  and 
trousers  of  the  same  color  and  material,  with  no  ornaments 
except  the  shoulder  straps  of  a  colonel.  He  looks  quite  plain 
and  simple  in  comparison  with  the  brass-mounted  aides-de- 
camp who  attend  him  and  the  ordinary  gold  braid  and  lace  of 
the  Bolivian  officers.  His  manners  are  unostentatious  and  his 
reticence  offers  a  striking  contrast  to  the  natural  effusiveness 
of  his  race.  He  is  modest,  retiring  and  taciturn,  a  constant 
student,  but  more  familiar  with  the  military  than  the  civil 
affairs  of  Europe  and  North  America. 

Colonel  Pando  lives  in  a  modest  house  on  one  of  the  side 
streets  of  La  Paz,  in  which  he  was  born.  It  has  belonged  to 
his  family  for  several  generations.  The  outer  walls  are 
painted  light  blue,  the  interior  is  old-fashioned  and  does  not 
differ  in  appearance  or  arrangement  from  a  majority  of  the 
residences  in  La  Paz.  It  surrounds  a  patio  paved  with  kidney 
stones  in  simple  patterns  of  black  and  white. 

Passing  up  a  narrow  stairway  we  entered  a  gallery  that 
overhangs  the  patio  and  found  there  a  young  officer  in  shining 
apparel,  who  took  our  cards  and  informed  us  that  his  chief 
was  expecting  us  at  that  hour.  We  were  ushered  into  a  large 
apartment  with  windows  looking  upon  the  street  which  any 
one  would  recognize  as  the  living  room  of  a  busy  family. 
The  old-fashioned  furniture,  well  worn,  was  decorated  with 
"tidies"  of  crochet  work  and  embroidery.  The  tablespread 
was  of  some  homemade  knitted  stuff.  On  the  walls  were 
amateur  paintings  and  drawings  and  enlarged  photographs  in 
crayon  of  members  of  the  family.     There  were   jardinieres 


3i6   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

filled  with  artificial  flowers  and  grasses  that  had  been  dipped 
in  alum  or  salts  and  were  covered  with  sparkling  particles. 
The  piano  was  littered  with  well-worn  music  and  a  guitar 
leaned  against  a  chair  near  by  on  friendly  terms  with  an  idle 
sword  which  some  member  of  the  family  had  evidently 
detached  from  his  belt  and  dropped  there  when  he  went  in  to' 
breakfast,  for  we  could  hear  the  rattling  of  dishes  and  the 
chatter  of  familiar  conversation  through  the  glass  doors  that^ 
led  into  the  next  room.  *■ 

The  president  of  Bolivia  is  a  native  of  La  Paz,  of  excellent 
family,  untainted  with  Indian  blood.  He  was  educated  at  the 
National  University,  entered  the  army  as  an  engineer  about 
thirty  years  ago,  and  soon  after  joined  a  party  of  explorers 
under  George  Earl  Church,  an  eminent  engineer,  who  made 
a  topographical  survey  of  the  eastern  provinces  of  Bolivia  and 
followed  down  the  many  affluents  of  the  Amazon  in  search  of 
a,  navigable  channel  from  Bolivian  territory  to  the  Atlantic. 
He  was  engaged  upon  that  and  similar  work  for  nine  years, 
and  wrote  a  book  containing  his  experiences  and  observations, 
which  is  said  to  be  interesting  reading  and  was  published  by 
the  government  and  by  a  syndicate  which  has  a  concession  in 
that  region.  No  one  is  more  familiar  with  the  unsettled  area 
of  this  country  than  he  and  no  one  appreciates  more  highly 
the  importance  of  its  development. 

Impatient  with  the  government  for  its  conservatism  and 
reactionary  policy,  Colonel*  Pando  joined  the  liberal  party  and 
participated  in  several  revolutions  which  were  organized  as  a 
protest  against  what  they  considered  fraudulent  elections.  He 
has  spent  most  of  the  time  during  the  last  twenty  years  or  so 
in  exile,  chiefly  at  Panama  and  Buenos  Ayres,  having  a  son  in 
business  at  the  latter  place.  All  his  family  have  been  sent  to 
England  for  education,  and  they  speak  English  and  French 
fluently,  as  well  as  Spanish.  Colonel  Pando  himself  under- 
stands English,  which  he  learned  from  the  engineers  with 
whom  he  was  associated  in  the  Amazon  country,  but  will  not 
trust  himself  to  speak  in  that  language. 

One  of  his  sons,  a  tall,  fine-looking  boy  of  22,  had  just 
returned  from  England,  and,  like  his  father,  will  follow  the 


POLITICAL  CONDITIONS   IN   BOLIVIA         317 

profession  of  an  engineer.  He  is  now  associated  with  an  Eng- 
lishman named  Satchell,  making  a  survey  for  an  electric  rail- 
way between  La  Paz  and  Los  Altos,  as  they  call  the  plateau 
that  surrounds  the  city.  We  saw  the  young  man  with  his 
sister,  a  handsome  girl  of  18  or  19,  at  Copocobana  during  the 
Indian  festivities. 

The  government  house,  in  which  the  president  resides,  or 
"el  palacio  de  govierno,"  as  it  is  called,  is  quite  an  imposing 
structure,  with  large  apartments,  high  ceilings,  many  large 
mirrors  with  heavy  Florentine  frames,  and  old-fashioned 
mahogany  furniture,  but  it  has  remained  unoccupied  so  much 
that  it  has  a  musty  smell  and  a  dilapidated  appearance. 

The  "scala  del  congreso,"  or  hall  of  representatives,  is  a 
large  room  without  desks,  but  with  two  rows  of  seats  on  either 
side,  which  are  occupied  by  the  members,  the  government 
party  being  on  one  side  and  the  opposition  on  the  other.  At 
one  end  is  a  platform  upon  which  the  president  sits  in  a  large 
gilt  chair  under  a  canopy  of  scarlet  velvet  edged  with  gold 
fringe,  and  he  rings  a  little  tea  bell  instead  of  using  a  gavel. 
At  the  other  end  of  the  room  is  a  "barra,"  or  railing,  outside 
of  which  the  public  are  admitted  without  restriction  and  dur- 
ing interesting  debates  this  space  is  usually  crowded  with  sym- 
pathizers of  the  different  factions,  and  admirers  of  the  leaders. 
Two  soldiers  armed  with  rifles  guard  the  entrance,  and  a  gen- 
eral of  the  army  is  detailed  to  act  as  sergeant-at-arms.  A  new 
presiding  officer  is  elected  every  month. 

The  members  of  the  cabinet  are  allowed  seats  on  the  floor 
and  can  participate  in  the  debates,  but  have  no  vote.  The 
president  of  the  republic  has  the  similar  privilege,  but  seldom 
exercises  it.  He  usually  appears  at  the  opening  of  each  session 
of  congress,  and  delivers  his  message  orally,  instead  of  in 
writing,  and  on  the  closing  day  he  makes  a  farewell  address  to 
both  houses,  which  meet  in  joint  session.  Whenever  he  enters 
the  chamber  he  is  accompanied  by  a  color  bearer  carrying  the 
national  ensign,  which,  by  the  way,  is  quite  a  gorgeous  one, 
being  composed  of  three  wide  bars  of  yellow,  scarlet  and 
green.  He  wears  a  uniform  heavily  embroidered  with  gold 
lace,  is  girded  with  a  tri-colored  sash,  and  wears  three  plumes 


3i8    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 


1 


in  a  cocked  hat  which  also  represents  the  national  colors.    He 
is  always  attended  by  a  large  staff  of  military  men. 

The  president  is  ex-officio  commander-in-chief  of  the  army 
with  the  rank  of  captain-general.  He  receives  a  salary  of 
18,000  bolivianos,  which  are  worth  about  50  cents  in  gold,  and 
an  allowance  of  $6,000  for  incidental  expenses. 

There  is  a  property  qualification  for  suffrage  in  Bolivia. 
No  man  can  vote  unless  he  has  an  income  of  at  least  200  boli- 
vianos a  year,  and  he  must  be  able  to  read  and  write.  Bank- 
rupts and  all  men  who  work  for  wages  are  debarred  from 
voting,  the  latter  on  the  theory  that  their  action  would  be  con- 
trolled by  their  employers.  To  be  a  member  of  the  house  of 
representatives  one  must  have  an  income  of  400  bolivianos 
and  800  bolivianos  to  be  a  senator.  There  is  an  alternate  for 
every  senator  and  representative,  who  takes  the  seat,  performs 
the  duties  and  draws  the  salary  of  200  bolivianos  a  month  in 
absence  of  the  principal.  No  man  can  hold  office  or  vote  who 
owes  money  to  the  government. 

The  members  of  the  cabinet  are  responsible  to  congress,  as 
in  England,  and  not  to  the  president.  They  are  responsible  to 
the  parliament,  and  not  to  the  crown — in  fact,  the  Bolivian 
constitution  is  modeled  in  this  respect  to  that  of  France. 

The  provinces  are  governed  by  prefects,  who  are  appointed 
by  the  president  and  are  responsible  to  him.  The  judges  of 
the  federal  courts  are  elected  by  the  congress,  and  they  appoint 
the  judges  of  the  lower  courts.  The  municipalities  are  gov- 
erned by  alcaldes  and  councils ;  the  police  force  is  a  part  of  the 
army  and  under  the  control  of  the  president. 

The  stoves  of  the  Bolivian  Indians  are  curious  things.  A 
hole  is  dug  in  the  ground  about  eighteen  inches  deep  and  a 
foot  square,  and  over  this  is  built  a  roof  of  clay  with  holes  of 
different  sizes  to  receive  the  various  cooking  pots.  Roasting 
is  done  on  spits  passed  through  the  holes,  so  that  the  meat 
comes  out  very  much  smoked  unless  great  care  is  taken  to 
have  only  live  coals  at  the  bottom  of  the  oven. 

The  national  dish,  and  the  common  food  of  the  masses,  is 
*'chupe,"  a  sort  of  first  cousin  to  the  Irish  stew.     It  is  a  con 
glomerate,  composed  of  irregular  constituents  from  the  animal 


pSE 


O*  THa 


POLITICAL  CONDITIONS   IN   BOLIVIA         319 

and  vegetable  kingdoms— a  mess  of  mutton  and  such  other 
meats  as  are  available :  chicken,  fish,  fruits,  potatoes,  carrots, 
barley,  corn,  rice,  onions,  yams,  etc.,  chopped  up,  highly  sea- 
soned with  peppers  and  herbs,  and  stewed  to  a  consistency  of 
porridge.  What  happens  to  be  left  from  one  meal  simmers  in 
the  pot  until  the  next.  If  the  fire  goes  out  the  "chupe"  is 
allpwed  to  cool,  but  it  is  warmed  up  again  and  a  new  supply 
of  the  ingredients  added  to  the  waterlogged  and  greasy  stuff 
for  the  next  meal.  In  the  cities,  at  the  hotels  and  restaurants 
where  there  are  French  or  Swiss  cooks,  the  *'chupe"  is  savory 
and  palatable,  but  the  farther  you  go  from  the  centers  of  civ- 
ilization the  worse  it  gets.  One  eats  it  at  first  under  protest, 
then  from  necessity,  and  only  to  escape  starvation ;  but  finally 
the  stomach  rebels  and  you  limit  your  diet  to  boiled  eggs  and 
fruit,  which  are  usually  to  be  obtained;  but  the  experienced 
traveler  always  takes  canned  meat  and  bread  with  him. 

Sucre  is  a  very  old  town,  and  was  founded  several  centuries 
before  the  conquest.  It  was  formerly  known  as  Chuquisaca, 
but  in  1824  it  was  christened  in  honor  of  General  Sucre,  one 
of  the  heroes  of  the  war  of  independence. 

The  most  imposing  edifice,  and  the  most  interesting 
object  in  Sucre,  is  the  Church  of  Nuestra  Senora  de  la  Guade- 
lupe,  which  stands  at  one  corner  of  the  principal  plaza,  and 
has  antique  twisted  columns  like  those  in  the  mosque  at  Cor- 
dova, which  are  the  admiration  of  artists  and  architects.  Over 
the  entrance  stands  a  marble  image  of  the  Virgin,  presented 
by  Charles  V.  of  Spain,  and  transported  from  the  seacoast  at 
an  enormous  cost.  This,  church  was  over  forty  years  in  course 
of  erection,  hundreds  of  men  being  constantly  employed,  and 
they  tell  a  curious  story  concerning  the  method  used  which  I 
have  also  heard  of  in  other  places*  Owing  to  the  difficulty  of 
obtaining  timber  for  derricks  and  platforms,  the  earth  was 
banked  up  against  the  walls  inside  and  outside  as  fast  as  a  tier 
of  stone  was  laid,  and  upon  this  inclined  plane  the  stones  for 
the  next  tier  were  rolled  into  their  places.  Then  more  earth 
was  thrown  on,  and  the  process  repeated  until  the  roof  was 
placed,  when  the  church  was  immersed  in  a  mountain  of  dirt. 
It  is  said  to  have  taken  thirteen  years  to  clear  the  inside  of 


320   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES  AND   THE  OCEAN 

the  building,  as  the  earth  could  only  be  taken  out  through  the 
narrow  windows  and  doors. 

At  one  time  the  church  of  Guadalupe  was  the  wealthiest  in 
South  America,  richer  even  than  that  at  Copocobana.  Held 
by  trustees  in  the  name  of  "Our  Lady  of  Guadelupe"  were 
several  of  the  richest  mines  of  the  country  and  some  of  the 
largest  haciendas.  But  most  of  this  property  has  been  lost  in 
one  way  or  another,  and  the  mines  have  been  abandoned. 
During  flush  times  the  church  treasury  was  the  receptacle  of 
an  enormous  amount  of  jewels,  votive  offerings  and  legacies 
from  pious  devotees,  but  these  also  have  been  stolen  by  the 
officers  of  the  government  and  by  revolutionary  leaders,  until 
the  only  object  of  great. value  that  remains  is  an  image  of  the 
Virgin  made  of  silver,  life  size  and  adorned  with  jewels  of 
great  price.  One  pearl,  about  the  size  of  a  pigeon's  egg^  has 
been  set  in  a  fashion  to  represent  a  greyhound,  probably 
because  the  donor  was  preserved  from  an  attack  from  such  an 
animal.  Another  votive  offering  heavily  set  with  jewels  rep- 
resents an  ox ;  another  a  frog.  The  robes  of  the  figure  gleam 
with  rubies,  diamonds,  emeralds,  sapphires,  pearls  and  other 
stones  of  lesser  value.  The  image  is  valued  at  $2,000,000,  and 
up  to  the  present  time  has  been  kept  sacred  from  the  rapa- 
cious adventurers  who  have  sought  or  occupied  the  presiden- 
tial chair.  On  high  festivals  it  is  carried  about  the  streets 
under  a  canopy,  attended  by  the  president  of  the  republic  andj 
the  civil,  military  and  ecclesiastical  authorities. 

There  were  formerly  in  the  church  of  Guadelupe  twenty- 1 
four  massive  silver  candelabras,  each  weighing  20,000  ounces, 
but  President  Melgarejo,  being  pressed  for  funds  to  carry  on] 
the  government  some  years  ago,  seized  and  melted  down  all] 
but  two,  which  remain  to  testify  to  the  splendor  of  the  church 
in  days  when  the  mines  of  Bolivia  were  flowing  silver.  Thej 
candelabras  are  eight  feet  high,  the  arms  are  five  feet  fromi 
tip  to  tip,  and  the  trunk  is  as  large  as  a  man's  body.  There 
is  nothing  to  compare  with  them  except  two  candlesticks  in  i 
the  cathedral  at  Seville,  Spain. 

Sucre  has  not  changed  for  200  years.     It  is  said  that  no 
new  building  has  been  erected  within  the  limits  of  the  city  for 


POLITICAL   CONDITIONS   IN   BOLIVIA         321 

more  than  a  century,  and  apparently  none  has  been  repaired. 
It  is  the  seat  of  the  aristocracy  of  Bolivia,  and  was  formerly 
one  of  the  richest  communities  in  all  the  world,  but  the  depres- 
sion of  the  mining  interests  has  cut  down  the  incomes  of  its 
most  prominent  citizens,  and  their  refusal  to  adopt  modern 
ideas  and  accept  modern  innovations  has  been  their  ruin. 
The  old  families  still  spend  considerable  of  their  time  in  Paris, 
and  send  their  children  to  France  and  Spain  to  be  educated. 
They  buy  expensive  pictures  and  jewels,  and  keep  in  touch 
with  art  and  literature,  but  have  a  stubborn  aversion  to  mod- 
ern methods  of  doing  business  and  a  violent  hatred  of  for- 
eigners. 

Bolivia  is  the  third  silver  producing  country  in  the  world, 
notwithstanding  her  isolated  position,  her  primitive  processes 
and  lack  of  transportation  facilities.  The  United  States  and 
Mexico  alone  exceed  Bolivia  in  the  amount  of  silver  bullion 
produced,  and  an  official  report  shows  that  only  134  mines  are 
in  operation  with  more  than  10,000  that  have  been  abandoned 
because  they  are  unable  to  compete  with  those  in  other  coun- 
tries which  are  more  accessible  and  are  provided  with  improved 
machinery. 

The  province  of  Potosi  has  suffered  more  than  any  other 
part  of  the  country  from  this  cause.  More  than  2,000  mines 
have  been  abandoned  in  that  great  silver  belt,  where  the  vast 
operations  during  the  last  three  centuries  represent  results  that 
are  almost  incredible  and  were  achieved  by  the  enforced  and 
unpaid  labor  of  the  Indians.  The  records  kept  at  Potosi, 
where  the  mint  has  been  located  in  the  same  picturesque  old 
building  for  300  years,  show  that  between  1545,  when  the 
records  begin,  and  1824,  when  they  close  with  the  declaration 
of  independence,  the  mines  of  Bolivia  produced  $3,406,366,035 
in  silver,  and  that  the  mountain  of  Potosi  alone,  which  is  a 
mass  of  silver  ore,  during  the  same  period  contributed 
$1,532,948,142  to  the  wealth  and  glory  of  Spain.  From  1800 
to  1897  the  product  of  the  mountain  of  Potosi  amounted  to 
$1,386,951,258,  making  a  total  of  $2,919,899,400  from  that 
single  deposit. 

This  seems  incredible,  but  it  is  probably  below  rather  than 


322    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

above  the  truth,  because  the  statistics  are  based  upon  the  offi- 
cial returns  of  the  tax  of  20  per  cent  on  the  gross  output  which 
was  annually  collected  for  the  Spanish  crown.  Human  nature 
was  the  same  then  as  now,  and  in  those  days  people  were  just 
as  reluctant  to  pay  taxes. 

Gold,  unlike  silver,  is  not  subject  to  export  duty,  therefore 
there  is  no  means  of  ascertaining  the  value  of  the  product,  but 
it  is  comparatively  small  and  even  infinitesimal  when  meas- 
ured with  the  output  of  the  mines  during  the  days  of  the  Inca 
dynasty.  Prior  to  the  Spanish  conquest,  in  1532,  gold  was  a 
sacred  metal,  consecrated  to  the  chief  deity,  the  sun.  It  did 
not  enter  into  commerce,  and  was  sought  not  for  gain,  but  for 
the  adornment  of  the  temples,  the  palaces  and  the  sacred 
vestments  of  the  priesthood  and  the  royal  household.  The 
traditions  of  the  Indians  agree  that  the  northwestern  prov- 
inces of  Bolivia  were  the  principal  sources  of  the  gold  that 
excited  the  cupidity  of  the  Spaniards,  and  relate  that  once  in 
every  three  months  a  trail  of  llamas  came  to  Cuzco  from  that 
direction  bearing  bladders  full  of  gold  dust  a?,  offerings  or 
tribute  to  the  king.  These  bladders,  called  "rosques,"  are 
still  used  by  the  Indians  for  transporting  gold. 

The  traces  of  their  prehistoric  work  and  the  remnants  of 
their  rude  mining  instruments  are  still  found  in  several  parts 
of  Bolivia,  and  although  with  their  primitive  processes  they 
were  unable  to  extract  metal  from  quartz,  and  were  compelled 
to  content  themselves  with  working  the  placer  deposits,  history 
furnishes  no  parallel  for  the  accumulation  of  treasure  that  was 
found  in  possession  of  the  Incas  at  the  time  of  the  conquest. 
And,  in  revenge  for  the  sacking  of  their  cities  and  temples, 
the  assassination  of  their  sovereign  and  the  destruction  of  their 
empire  by  the  Spaniards  in  their  insatiable  greed,  the  Indians 
destroyed  and  concealed  the  mines  from  which  the  treasure 
came. 

Gold  mining  is  therefore  somewhat  limited  in  Bolivia 
to-day,  and  with  a  few  exceptions  is  carried  on  only  by  the 
Indians  in  a  small  way.  The  total  product  probably  does  not 
exceed  $100,000  a  year,  and  most  of  the  dust  is  brought  to  the 
**rescates  de  oro,"  or  annual  sales  of  gold,  which  take  place  at 


POLITICAL   CONDITIONS   IN   BOLIVIA         323 

several  of  the  mining  centers,  when  buyers  from  Sucre  and  La 
Paz  meet  the  Indian  miners  and  bid  for  their  dust. 

Col.  Thomas  H.  Anderson,  of  Washington,  D.  C,  who  was 
minister  to  Bolivia  under  the  Harrison  administration,  attended 
one  of  these  "rescates  de  oro"  at  the  village  of  Chuchulaya, 
where  it  has  been  held  annually  for  more  than  two  centuries, 
and  he  says  that  there  were  at  least  3,000  Indians  present,  each 
with  a  little  gold  dust  which  they  were  selling  to  the  specu- 
lators for  28  bolivianos,  or  about  $16,  an  ounce. 

Fabulous  stories  are  told  of  the  output  of  some  of  the  mines 
that  were  abandoned  centuries  ago,  but  are  still  supposed  to 
contain  large  deposits.  A  number  of  prospectors,  mostly  from 
the  United  States,  are  now  looking  up  properties  in  Bolivia, 
and  it  is  the  hope  of  each  to  stumble  upon  the  ancient  wash- 
ings of  the  Incas. 

The  hostility  of  the  Indians  makes  gold  hunting  in  Bolivia 
rather  dangerous,  and,  although  no  actual  violence  has  been 
committed  thus  far,  some  of  the  prospectors  tell  of  very 
exciting  experiences  in  the  interior. 

The  tax  on  silver,  which  is  80  cents  a  marc,  Bolivian  money, 
or  about  37^  cents  in  American  gold,  is  farmed  out  by  the 
government  and  sold  at  auction  to  the  highest  bidder  in  Octo- 
ber every  year.  No  record  is  published  of  the  exact  amount 
collected,  but  the  bonus  paid  the  government  last  year  was 
based  upon  an  estimated  production  of  $11,000,000.  More 
than  one-half  of  that  was  produced  by  the  famous  Huanchaca 
mine  at  Oruro,  owned  by  ex-President  Anecito  Arce.  This  is 
claimed  to  be  the  most  profitable  silver  mine  in  the  world  at 
present,  and  is  the  only  one  in  Bolivia  that  is  fitted  with  mod- 
ern machinery.  Its  owners  have  built  a  railway  from  Oruro 
to  Antafogasta,  on  the  Pacific  coast,  for  the  purpose  of  getting 
their  ores  and  bullion  to  market.  Ores  yielding  165  ounces  of 
silver  to  the  ton  are  shipped  to  Europe  in  bags,  while  those  of 
lower  grade  down  to  fifty  ounces  are  treated  at  the  mines,  and 
those  carrying  less  than  fifty  ounces  are  rejected  as  worthless. 

It  would  amuse  an  American  miner  to  witness  the  prim- 
itive methods  that  are  used  in  this  country.  Most  of  the  ore  is 
carred  from  the  mines  in  a  blanket  on  the  back  of  an  Indian 


324   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

who  climbs  a  notched  pole  to  the  top  of  the  shaft,  or  is  hauled 
Tip  by  hand  in  buckets  made  of  cowhide.  The  ore  is  first 
passed  through  a  crusher,  separated  by  hand  by  Indian  women 
and  girls,  and  then  milled  with  a  "quimbalete,"  a  large, 
smooth  bowlder  rocked  back  and  forth  over  a  flat  bed  of  stone 
or  cement  upon  which  the  metal  has  been  spread.  In  some  of 
the  more  progressive  mines  they  have  a  "trapiche,"  which  is 
a  large  wheel  or  roller  of  cut  stone  like  those  used  in  laying 
pavements.  This  is  rolled  back  and  forth  upon  a  bed  of  stone, 
and  crushes  the  ore  that  is  spread  beneath  it.  The  crushed 
ore  is  then  transferred  to  a  sluicebox  and  water  turned  upon 
it.  A  mill  of  this  kind  can  handle  about  two  tons  a  day  of 
twenty-four  hours. 

The  ore,  having  thus  been  milled  and  washed,  is  taken  up 
by  quicksilver  and  placed  in  a  cast-iron  pattern  and  pressed, 
which  gives  it  form  and  expels  a  large  percentage  of  the  quick- 
silver. It  is  then  placed  in  a  retort,  where  the  remaining 
quicksilver  is  expelled,  leaving  a  porous  mass  of  pure  silver  in 
the  shape  of  a  pineapple,  which  is  known  as  "plata  pina,"  or 
silver  pineapple. 

Although  the  mountain  of  Potosi  is  by  no  means  exhausted, 
and,  according  to  the  opinions  of  the  experts,  contains  as  much 
more  silver  as  has  been  taken  out,  it  is  worked  to  only  a  limited 
extent,  because  the  price  of  bullion  is  so  low  that  it  cannot 
compete  with  mines  like  Huanchaca,  which  has  modern 
machinery  and  can  send  its  ore  and  bullion  to  market  by  rail- 
way instead  of  on  the  back  of  a  llama.  Very  few  other  mines 
pay  expenses. 

Copper  and  tin  are  quite  as  plenty  as  silver  and  gold  in 
Bolivia,  and  it  is  asserted  that  the  tin  deposits  in  Oruro  and 
the  copper  deposits  in  La  Paz  are  unsurpassed  in  the  world, 
but  they  suffer  from  the  same  difficulties  as  the  silver.  It  does 
not  pay  to  work  them  in  competition  with  other  mines  that 
have  railway  facilities  and  modem  machinery.  Tin  ore  is 
found  at  frequent  intervals  all  over  the  plateaus  of  Bolivia, 
but  the  excessive  freights  to  the  Pacific  coast,  made  necessary 
by  the  employment  of  llamas  and  pack  mules,  increase  the 
cost  of  shipping  the  ore  to  such  a  degree  as  to  retard  develop- 


,^6  LIBRA^ 

^^        OF  THK  '^ 

•0NIVERSITY 


POLITICAL   CONDITIONS   IN   BOLIVIA         325 

ment  and  make  it  impossible  to  import  suitable  machinery. 
The  copper  mines  often  turn  out  ore  containing  from  80  to 
90  per  cent  of  pure  metal,  and  the  average  of  the  tin  is  73  per 
cent. 

The  mining  laws  of  Bolivia  are  peculiar.  *'A11  minerals  of 
whatever  origin  and  however  laid  on  the  ground,  whether  on 
the  surface  or  beneath  the  same,  in  any  manner  or  form, 
belong  originally  to  the  state,"  says  the  statute.  '*For  the 
purpose  of  this  law  the  soil  and  the  sub-soil  are  two  different 
things  altogether.  Soil  is  the  exterior  coat  or  surface  extend- 
ing downward  only  to  such  depths  as  may  be  reached  by  the 
work  of  the  owner  when  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  or 
when  paving  or  making  foundations,  or  doing  any  other  labor 
whatsoever  different  from  mining. ' ' 

Under  this  law,  therefore,  if  gold  or  silver  is  found  upon 
the  property  of  a  private  citizen  it  does  not  belong  to  him,  but 
to  the  government,  from  whom  it  may  be  purchased  by  the 
finder  or  any  one  else  to  whom  he  may  transfer  his  rights.  It 
often  happens,  therefore,  that  haciendados  find  prospectors 
sinking  shafts  upon  their  land  and  digging  up  their  soil  with- 
out permission,  and  if  they  find  anything  of  value  the  owner  is 
perfectly  helpless.  The  prospector  goes  to  the  nearest 
alcalde,  files  his  claim,  pays  $15  and  does  enough  work  to 
entitle  him  to  ownership. 

Potosi,  the  "city  of  silver,"  is  13,500  feet  above  tide  water, 
2,000  feet  higher  than  Leadville,  and  1,000  feet  nearer  the  sky 
than  Lake  Titicaca.  It  lies  upon  the  breast  of  a  most  extraor- 
dinary mineralogical  phenomenon  known  as  **E1  Cerro  de 
Potosi, '  *  which  is  literally  a  mountain  of  silver,  and  is  pierced 
by  a  thousand  shafts.  Potosi  was  formerly  a  city  of  200,000 
inhabitants,  but  the  population  is  not  more  than  20,000  to-day, 
although  50,000  is  claimed.  Four-fifths  of  the  buildings  are 
unoccupied,  and  are  in  different  stages  of  decay.  Being  so 
rich,  Potosi  has  suffered  from  revolutions  more  than  any  other 
city  in  the  Andes,  for  it  has  always  been  the  object  of  conten- 
tion by  revolutionary  adventurers  whose  only  ambition  seemed 
to  be  to  accumulate  a  fortune  by  any  possible  means,  and  most 
of  the  houses  bear  marks  of  the  political  warfare  of  which  they 


326    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

have  been  silent  but  suffering  witnesses.  The  streets  are  nar- 
row, the  houses  are  built  in  the  old-fashioned  Spanish  style, 
with  heavy  stone  walls  and  roofs  of  red  tile.  In  the  interior 
of  many  of  them  are  evidences  of  luxuriance  in  the  shape  of 
paintings  and  other  works  of  art.  Potosi  is  still  the  residence 
of  several  of  the  ancient  aristocratic  Spanish  families  who  are 
now  too  poor  to  move  and  are  dying  amid  the  scenes  of  their 
former  grandeur. 

The  minister  of  the  United  States  at  La  Paz  has  for  many 
years  represented  the  interests  of  the  British  government  in 
Bolivia,  whereby  hangs  a  curious  tale.  During  the  reign  of 
one  of  the  several  dictators  who  have  ruled  over  that  unhappy 
country  since  its  separation  from  Spain,  the  British  minister 
and  his  family  were  invited  to  dine  at  the  palace  where,  to 
their  astonishment,  they  were  received  by  a  notorious  woman 
whose  relations  with  the  dictator  were  well  understood.  The 
British  envoy  retired  from  the  palace  with  his  wife  and  daugh- 
ter as  soon  as  he  recognized  his  hostess,  and  their  places  at  the 
table  were  vacant.  The  other  guests  were  not  so  fastidious. 
They  remained  throughout  the  entertainment,  and  afterwaids 
enjoyed  a  dance.  The  next  morning  the  minister  called  upon 
the  president  and  demanded  an  apology  for  inviting  his  wife 
and  daughter  to  meet  such  a  woman,  which  the  president 
refused  to  give;  and,  when  the  woman  learned  the  object  of 
his  visit,  she  furnished  a  practical  illustration  of  the  old  adage 
that,  "Hell  hath  no  fury  like  a  woman  scorned."  At  her 
instance,  the  president  sent  the  minister  his  passports,  and 
ordered  him  to  leave  the  capital  at  once,  sending  a  lieutenant 
and  file  of  soldiers  to  escort  him  to  the  frontier.  As  he  was 
passing  out  of  the  city,  he  expressed  his  indignation  in  such 
emphatic  terms  that  the  lieutenant  took  him  out  of  the  stage 
and  made  him  mount  a  donkey  with  his  face  to  its  tail.  In  ] 
this  way  the  envoy  extraordinary  of  her  British  majesty  left 
the  capital  of  Bolivia  jeered  and  hooted  by  a  mob  of  natives.  • 
As  Bolivia  was  too  small  a  country  for  England  to  punish, 
Lord  Salisbury  allowed  the  insult  to  pass  without  retribution, 
but  no  minister  or  consul  has  ever  been  sent  to  Bolivia  since, 
and  it  is  not  probable  that  one  ever  will  be. 


POLITICAL  CONDITIONS   IN   BOLIVIA         327 

Some  years  later,  when  President  Arce  visited  London  to 
negotiate  a  loan  to  pay  for  some  internal  improvements,  he 
called  at  the  foreign  office  with  the  hope  of  being  able  to 
restore  relations,  but  the  minister  of  state  for  foreign  affairs 
told  him  politely  that  Her  Majesty's  government  was  not 
aware  of  the  existence  of  such  a  country  as  Bolivia,  and 
pointed  to  a  map  upon  which  it  had  been  entirely  effaced. 

Along  in  the  fifties,  a  Scotch  sailor,  named  Penny,  deserted 
from  a  man-of-war  on  the  west  coast  of  South  America,  and 
found  his  way  to  the  interior  of  Bolivia,  where  he  worked  as  a 
miner  and  did  odd  jobs  for  a  living.  In  the  course  of  time  he 
took  up  with  an  Indian  woman,  and  after  she  had  nursed  him 
through  a  long  and  dangerous  illness  he  married  her  to  show 
his  gratitude.  She  reciprocated  his  confidence,  and  affection 
by  leading  him  to  an  ancient  mine,  which  had  been  abandoned 
and  partially  filled  at  the  time  of  the  conquest  in  order  to  keep 
it  from  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  Spaniards.  With  the  aid 
of  his  wife  and  a  fellow  countryman  named  Mackenzie,  Penny 
cleaned  out  the  rubbish  and  struck  a  vein  of  silver  that  made 
him  a  millionaire.  The  mine  is  still  operated,  and  is  one  of 
the  most  profitable  in  South  America. 

After  having  developed  the  property  and  organizing  his 
affairs  with  Mackenzie  as  his  superintendent,  some  years  later, 
Penny  returned  to  Scotland  and  purchased  the  estate  near 
Aberdeen  upon  which  his  parents  had  lived  as  laborers.  His 
Indian  wife  could  neither  read  nor  write,  and  could  not  speak 
or  understand  a  word  of  English,  but  was  habitually  arrayed 
in  silks  and  satins,  and  wore  jewels  that  were  the  wonder  of 
all  the  country  around.  Penny  spent  his  money  like  a 
"Monte  Cristo,"  and  the  fame  of  his  philanthrophy  will  never 
be  forgotten  by  the  people  of  that  region.  He  brought  a. son 
of  Mackenzie  to  Scotland  to  be  educated,  and  sent  him  to  the 
best  schools.  He  also  adopted  a  nephew  by  the  name  of 
Craig,  the  son  of  a  village  parson,  living  near  Aberdeen. 
Penny  insisted  that  both  should  adopt  his  name,  and,  as  he  had 
no  children  of  his  own,  and  no  prospects  of  any,  promised  to 
make  them  his  heirs. 

When  he  died  suddenly  he  left  a  will  bequeathing  his  mines 


328    BETWEEN  THE   ANDES  AND   THE  OCEAN 

and  his  millions  to  his  wife,  and  commending  to  her  care  and 
generosity  his  two  adopted  sons,  Craig  and  Mackenzie  Penny. 
Shortly  after  Craig-Penny  started  for  Bolivia  with  the 
widow,  leaving  Mackenzie,  who  was  then  about  eighteen  years 
old,  in  school.  During  the  voyage,  by  some  means,  Craig 
induced  Mrs.  Penny  to  marry  him,  and  when  they  arrived  at 
Oruro  he  produced  a  marriage  certificate,  took  charge  of  the 
property  and  dismissed  the  faithful  Mackenzie,  who  had  been 
sole  manager  of  the  mine  for  many  years.  Then  Mrs.  Penny 
died  under  mysterious  circumstances.  Although  her  husband 
attempted  to  keep  away  the  doctors  and  the  priests,  the  old 
lady  through  a  servant  managed  to  send  word  to  friends  that 
she  needed  protection,  and  before  her  death  declared  that  she 
had  been  poisoned.  The  scandal  was  hushed  with  money, 
and  Penny  lived  like  a  lord  on  the  profits  of  the  mine  of  which 
he  claimed  to  be  the  sole  owner,  but  after  a  time  young  Mac- 
kenzie learned  what  had  transpired  in  Bolivia,  and  started  for 
Oruro  to  protect  his  rights.  Being  a  British  subject,  he  placed 
his  claims  in  the  hands  of  Thomas  H.  Anderson,  United  States 
minister  to  Bolivia,  who  was  in  charge  of  British  interests,  and 
the  latter  with  the  aid  of  Dr.  Alonzo,  recently  president  of 
Bolivia,  endeavored  to  arrange  an  amicable  settlement  of  the 
controversy,  under  which  the  two  boys  were  to  have  equal 
shares  in  the  mine.  When  Mr.  Anderson  returned  to  the, 
United  States  at  the  end  of  his  term  of  office  he  brought 
young  Mackenzie  Penny  with  him,  in  order  that  he  might j 
complete  his  education  in  Washington,  but,  after  a  time,  whenj 
the  boy  returned  to  Bolivia,  President  Alonzo  organized  a 
syndicate  to  buy  out  both  the  heirs  for  $500,000  each.  He] 
now  controls  the  mines  and  is  paying  the  two  heirs  in  install- 1 
ments,  while  both  are  drinking  themselves  to  death  at  Anto-J 
fogasta. 


Side  Entrance  to  Shrine  at  Copocabana,   Bolivia. 


X^^        OF   THB  '^ 

UNIVERSITY 
*£lCALlFOB^ 


XXI 

COPOCOBANA— SHRINE  OF  THE  PATRON  SAINT  OF  SOUTH 

AMERICA 

Not  far  from  the  island  of  Titicaca,  toward  the  south,  a 
narrow  peninsula  projects  into  the  lake,  at  the  point  of  which 
is  a  small  town  of  great  fame.  It  was  the  Mecca  of  the  Incas, 
the  residence  of  a  famous  idol  and  oracle,  the  scene  of  annual 
festivities  which  attract  a  large  portion  of  the  population,  and 
the  shrine  of  the  patron  saint  of  Bolivia.  Here,  in  prehis- 
toric times,  was  the  seat  of  a  celebrated  oracle,  with  an  exten- 
sive group  of  temples  and  monasteries,  and  it  was  the  place  of 
assembly  of  all  the  princes,  priests,  warriors,  notables  of  the 
empire,  as  well  as  the  common  people,  for  the  spring  festivals 
which  took  place  in  August  every  year. 

It  must  be  remembered  in  this  connection,  as  in  all  other 
references  to  agriculture,  that  the  seasons  south  of  the 
equator  are  the  reverse  of  those  in  the  northern  zone.  Here 
spring  comes  in  September  and  the  leaves  wither  and  fall  in 
April. 

The  only  ruins  of  importance  which  remain  of  the  Incarial 
structures  is  a  remarkable  throne  or  platform  upon  the  slope 
of  a  hill  near  Copocobana,  which  was  evidently  "the  seat  of 
the  mighty."  Enormous  rocks  which  protrude  from  the  soil 
were  utilized  for  a  throne  or  platform  from  which  the  Incas  or 
the  priests  must  have  addressed  the  people  and  witnessed  the 
festival.  It  is  a  marvelous  piece  of  stone-cutting,  and  there  is 
nothing  like  it  in  either  Bolivia  or  Peru.  Some  scientists  hold 
that  its  age  is  greater  than  that  of  the  Inca  dynasty,  and  that 
it  was  the  seat  of  judgment  from  which  the  early  monarchs 
pronounced  their  decrees  and  proclaimed  their  edicts  in  the 
presence  of  the  people.  But  however  that  may  be,  it  is  to-day 
one  of  the  most  interesting  and  extraordinary  relics  of  an 
extinct  civilization. 

329 


330   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

The  diplomacy  and  the  wisdom  of  the  early  catholic  mis- 
sionaries is  nowhere  more  strikingly  illustrated  than  by  the 
skill  with  which  they  won  for  their  church  the  reverence  of 
the  aborigines.  In  following  a  contrary  policy  the  protestants 
have  made  a  great  mistake.  The  catholics  did  not  condemn  or 
attempt  to  obliterate  the  native  customs  of  the  Indians,  but 
with  exceeding  skill  turned  them  into  new  channels  and  finally 
amalgamated  the  most  important  of  them  with  the  authorized 
festivals  of  their  own  church.  Upon  the  ruins  of  the  pagan 
temples,  and  with  the  same  material  of  which  they  were  built, 
they  erected  at  Copocobana  a  magnificent  edifice,  one  of  the 
finest  and  most  beautiful  on  the  continent.  They  seated  upon 
the  throne  of  the  oracle  an  image  of  the  Mother  of  Christ, 
which  is  more  renowned  than  any  other  effigy  in  America, 
and  made  her  shrine  the  scene  of  annual  festivals  which  call 
together  the  inhabitants  of  the  entire  Andean  regions. 

Before  the  farmers  begin  to  plow  this  inhospitable  soil  for 
their  spring  planting  in  the  month  of  August,  they  come  here 
from  all  over  Bolivia  and  the  interior  of  Peru  to  enjoy  a  holi- 
day, to  renew  acquaintance  and  to  seek  the  blessing  of  their 
patron  saint  upon  the  labor  of  the  coming  year.  The  rites  and 
ceremonies  partake  largely  of  those  of  the  Incarial  times.  At 
the  same  time  they  have  a  religious  significance  and  are  con- 
ducted under  the  auspices  of  the  monks  of  the  Franciscan 
convent,  who  have  the  custody  of  the  miraculous  image  and 
derive  a  large  revenue  from  these  annual  gatherings. 

The  festival  at  Copocobana,  which  lasts  six  days,  is  also  a 
trading  fair  like  that  at  Nijni  Novgorod  in  Russia,  the  com- 
mercial spirit  of  the  Indians  manifesting  itself  in  connection 
with  their  holiday  pleasures  and  their  religious  ceremonials. 
Farmers,  merchants  and  manufacturers  take  advantage  of  the 
gathering  to  sell  their  produce,  and  drive  in  llama  trains 
laden  with  merchandise  of  all  sorts  for  hundreds  of  miles. 
They  erect  booths  in  the  plaza  and  along  the  highway.  The 
people  of  the  north  exchange  products  with  the  people  of  the 
south,  and  the  barter  amounts  to  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
dollars  every  year. 

Copocobana  is  not  an   attractive   place,    judged   by  our 


1 


COPOCOBANA— SHRINE  OF   PATRON   SAINT  331 

standard.  It  sits  upon  a  rocky  slope  fronting  the  west  and 
without  any  green  foliage  or  natural  ornaments.  The  rugged 
and  barren  hills  that  surround  it  are  repulsive.  The  unpainted 
houses  of  adobe  that  shelter  the  pilgrims,  with  their  roofs  of 
red  tile,  are  not  without  a  certain  picturesqueness,  and  the  dry 
fields  of  stubble  inclosed  by  mud  fences  and  interspersed  with 
large  lichen-covered  bowlders  are  a  novelty  to  those  who  dwell 
in  green  lands.  The  landing  place  is  a  pier  of  stone,  and  from 
it  a  narrow  crooked  lane,  bordered  by  high  stone  fences,  leads 
to  the  village.  The  fields  on  either  side  are  filled  with  animals 
—mules,  horses,  burros,  and  llamas — which  have  brought  in 
the  pilgrims  from  all  directions,  and  find  temporary  pasture 
until  their  return.  Every  structure  is  a  hotel  during  the 
season  of  the  fiesta,  in  which  they  pack  the  people  as  closely 
as  possible.  Near  the  temple  are  several  enormous  tambos, 
or  lodging  houses,  erected  and  maintained  by  the  monks  for 
the  accommodation  of  the  public,  and  they  are  said  to  be  a 
close  imitation  of  similar  establishments  that  were  maintained 
by  the  Incas  in  different  parts  of  the  country  for  the  same 
purpose. 

These  tambos  accommodate  several  hundred  people. 
They  surround  a  large  patio,  in  which  are  fountains  for  pure 
water  drinking,  cooking  and  bathing  purposes.  The  upper 
floors  are  divided  into  small  cells  and  apartments  fairly  well 
furnished  for  the  accommodation  of  the  wealthier  classes. 
Most  of  them  bring  their  own  bedding.  The  ground  floor  is 
cut  up  into  large  rooms  for  the  accommodation  of  the  poor, 
who  supply  their  own  food  and  furniture  and  pay  a  small  fee 
for  the  shelter.  There  are  large  refectories  in  which  those 
who  have  money  may  obtain  cazuela  or  chupe,  the  national 
dishes  of  the  country,  that  resemble  an  Irish  stew,  and  on  the 
upper  floor  regular  meals  are  served  to  the  first-class  boarders. 

The  monasteries  during  the  festival  season  also  accommo- 
date large  numbers  of  people.  They  were  formerly  handsome 
buildings,  but  are  in  a  state  of  decay. 

Under  a  stately  dome  are  three  remarkable  crosses,  mono- 
liths of  different-colored  marble,  about  thirty  feet  high,  before 
which  are  always  found  groups  of  kneeling  natives.     It  is  a 


332    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

picturesque  as  well  as  a  pathetic  sight,  for  the  devotees  must 
say  a  certain  number  of  prayers  or  pray  for  a  certain  time  at 
the  foot  of  these  crosses  before  they  are  permitted  to  enter  the 
presence  of  the  Virgin,  whose  shrine  occupies  the  chief  altar 
of  the  sanctuary.  Upon  the  pedestals  are  numerous  votive 
offerings,  skulls  and  other  objects  of  religious  significance 
which  have  been  placed  there  by  the  pilgrims. 

In  the  center  of  the  town  is  a  large  plaza,  the  church  occu- 
pying one  side  and  the  other  three  sides  being  devoted  to 
shops.  Along  the  walls  of  the  church  is  a  line  of  eating 
booths,  where  cooking  and  the  sale  of  food  are  conducted 
upon  a  primitive  plan  that  is  more  interesting  than  appetizing. 
Around  the  three  sides  of  the  plaza  are  rows  of  booths  for  the 
sale  of  merchandise,  food,  sweetmeats  and  articles  which  have 
been  blessed  by  the  priests. 

Every  pilgrim  who  visits  Copocobana  carries  away  a  badge, 
which  is  regarded  with  envy  by  those  who  have  not  been  so 
fortunate  as  to  attend  the  festival.  It  consists  of  a  little  sprig 
of  white  artificial  flowers  and  is  worn  in  the  hat  or  upon  the 
breast,  and  wherever  you  see  any  person  with  such  an  orna- 
ment you  may  know  that  he  has  attended  the  festival. 

Squatting  upon  the  ground  in  the  center  of  the  plaza  are 
long  rows  of  silent,  solemn-faced  women,  whose  nimble  fingers 
are  always  busy  knitting  or  spinning  wool  with  the  rucca,  a 
peculiar  implement  which  is  forever  in  their  hands.  They  sit 
for  hours  silent  and  abstracted. 

The  great  church,  which  was  built  in  the  beginning  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  must  have  been  a  beautiful  structure 
when  it  was  new,  and  even  in  its  present  state  of  decay  and 
neglect  it  is  imposing  and  attractive.  The  wood  carving  is 
abundant  and  remarkable.  The  altar  is  of  hammered  silver, 
28  feet  high  and  18  feet  across;  the  pictures  are  said  to  be 
valuable  examples  of  the  early  masters  brought  over  by  the 
Franciscan  monks  from  Spain.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  several 
of  them  are  of  unusual  merit,  but  the  canvas  is  so  discolored 
and  the  church  is  so  dark  that  is  is  difficult  to  identify  them. 

The  floor  is  covered  with  matting  made  of  braided  barley 
straw,  and    groups  of   hooded  women  are   always  kneeling 


I 


COPOCOBANA—SHRINE   OF   PATRON   SAINT  333 

before  shrines  that  are  embellished  with  artificial  flowers. 
Before  each  altar  is  a  long  table  with  tin  receptacles  for  can- 
dles, the  smallest  offering  that  a  poor  penitent  may  make  to 
her  patron  saint,  and  thousands  of  them  are  constantly  burning 
during  the  festival  week.  Here  and  there  is  a  pathetic  evi- 
dence of  penitence  in  the  form  of  a  cluster  of  wild  flowers  laid 
by  the  hand  of  some  maiden  upon  the  altar  of  the  Holy 
Mother.  Barefooted  altar  boys  are  going  about,  and  priests 
are  chanting  masses  in  the  various  chapels. 

The  image  of  the  Virgin  of  Copocobana,  the  patron  saint  of 
Bolivia,  stands  upon  an  altar  in  a  little  chapel  under  the  roof 
that  is  reached  by  a  narrow  winding  stairway.  The  hollow 
places  in  the  steps  give  mute  testimony  to  the  millions  of 
penitent  feet  that  have  turned  that  way  during  the  several 
centuries  she  has  been  enthroned  here,  and  they  have  num- 
bered hundreds  of  thousands  every  year.  We  could  not  get 
near  enough  to  the  altar  to  observe  the  image  closely,  but  it  is 
said  to  be  a  remarkable  piece  of  wood  carving,  and  to  bear  an 
expression  that  has  never  been  equaled  by  the  carver's  art. 
Every  one  in  Bolivia  testifies  to  the  artistic  merit  of  the  execu- 
tion, which  is  said  to  have  been  the  work  of  an  ignorant  Indian 
in  the  mountains  whose  soul  and  hands  were  guided  by  divine 
inspiration,  and  for  whom  the  Blessed  Virgin  herself  sat  as  a 
model. 

The  story  goes  that  this  peon  appeared  at  Potosi  early  in 
the  seventeenth  century  bearing  the  image  and  offered  to  sell 
it  to  the  parish  priest,  who  turned  him  out  without  any  atten- 
tion. The  Indian  made  his  way  over  the  mountains  to  Sucre, 
with  no  better  reception,  and  then  performed  a  weary  journey 
to  La  Paz  over  the  snow-covered  sierras,  bearing  his  precious 
burden  upon  his  back.  There  Franciscans  from  Spain  who 
had  recently  established  a  monastery  gave  him  a  welcome  that 
was  no  more  cordial,  their  minds  being  occupied  with  matters 
of  greater  importance,  but  they  allowed  him  to  place  the 
image  in  a  store  room  and  to  sleep  upon  a  pile  of  sheepskins 
in  a  coiner  of  a  patio.  During  the  night  a  monk  happened  to 
enter  the  room  where  the  image  had  been  placed,  and,  to  his 
amazement,  found  it  surrounded  by  a  brilliant  light  which  pro- 


334   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

ceeded  from  its  face.  He  slept  late  the  next  morning,  and 
during  the  day  reported  the  phenomenon  to  the  prior,  who 
made  an  inquiry;  but  the  peon  had  departed,  no  one  knew 
whither. 

They  traced  him  to  Copocobana,  and  sent  a  messenger  to 
call  him  back,  but  the  monks  at  the  latter  place  had  recognized 
the  merit  of  the  carving  and  declined  to  surrender  it.  The 
superior  of  the  order,  who  resided  at  La  Paz,  commanded  them 
to  send  the  image  to  him,  and  they  put  it  in  a  boat,  but  as 
soon  as  they  started  across  the  lake  a  terrible  storm  came  on 
and  they  were  obliged  to  return.  This  was  repeated  as  often 
as  they  attempted  to  take  the  image  away,  and  finally  the  prior 
himself  came  over  from  La  Paz  to  investigate  the  matter. 

The  evidence  of  divine  interposition  was  so  apparent  that 
he  decided  to  leave  the  image  at  Copocobana  in  charge  of  a 
small  colony  of  Franciscans  that  had  been  established  there. 
Within  a  few  years  several  remarkable  miracles  gave  the  effigy 
a  sanctity  and  fame  that  extended  throughout  the  entire 
country.  Pilgrims  came  to  offer  adoration ;  the  sick  and  the 
halt,  the  lame  and  the  blind  were  healed  by  touching  the  fig- 
ure, and  from  the  offerings  at  the  altar  this  beautiful  church 
was  built.  In  time  Copocobana  became  the  most  famous 
religious  resort  in  all  America,  and  for  three  centuries  this 
virgin  has  been  worshiped  by  millions.  People  have  come 
from  Mexico,  from  Central  America,  from  all  the  republics  of 
South  America,  and  even  from  Europe,  to  seek  her  interposi- 
tion and  pay  vows  made  in  time  of  danger  or  distress.  The 
monks  told  us  that  there  were  many  devotees  from  the  United 
States  also. 

The  Virgin  of  Copocobana  has  an  immense  wardrobe, 
including  many  rare  examples  of  embroidery  and  lace,  and 
among  her  jewels  is  a  ruby  fully  an  inch  and  a  half  long  by  an 
inch  in  thickness,  which,  curiously  enough,  was  presented  by 
a  Turk  who  spent  some  years  in  Bolivia.  It  is  said  to  be  one 
of  the  finest  rubies  in  the  world.  She  has  also  a  valuable  col- 
lection of  pearls,  said  to  be  worth  many  thousands  of  dollars. 

The  method  of  conferring  the  blessing  of  the  Virgin  is 
quite  interesting.     Each  person  who  desires  to  receive  it  pays 


COPOCOBANA— SHRINE   OF  PATRON   SAINT  335 

a  sum  of  money  to  a  monk  who  occupies  an  office  in  the  clois- 
ter of  the  adjoining  convent,  and  after  payment  is  allowed  to 
pass  up  the  stairs  into  the  little  chapel,  where  the  service  is 
continuous  during  the  time  of  the  festival.  Bearing  a  lighted 
candle  in  his  hand  he  approaches  the  altar  rail  and  kneels  with 
the  throng  of  worshipers. 

A  bridal  wreath  is  suspended  by  long  strips  of  broad  white 
ribbon  in  the  center  of  the  chapel.  In  a  little  gallery  over  the 
entrance  is  a  band  of  music  with  a  cabinet  organ,  two  horns, 
a  flute,  a  'cello  and  a  native  instrument  made  of  reeds. 
Behind  the  altar  rail  was  a  monk,  assisted  by  two  barefooted 
acolytes.  As  the  devotees  approached  the  altar  the  acolytes 
took  the  candles  from  their  hands  and  placed  them  in  a  rack 
prepared  for  that  purpose.  They  were  then  arranged,  kneel- 
ing as  closely  together  as  possible,  in  front  of  the  altar  rail  and 
a  robe  of  white  satin  embroidered  with  designs  in  silver,  which 
was  formerly  worn  by  the  image,  was  spread  over  their  heads. 
The  officiating  monk  laid  a  sort  of  collarette  upon  the  mantle 
and  uttered  some  words.  The  robe  was  then  lifted  and  the 
worshipers  went  away. 

This  continues  all  day  long  during  the  festival  season.  The 
devotees  were  chiefly  Indians  from  the  mountains,  barefooted 
and  wearing  ponchos.  Among  them  were  some  well-dressed 
men  and  women  with  intelligent  faces  and  devout  demeanor. 
One  of  the  engineers  of  the  steamer  Coya,  a  Peruvian  from 
Puno,  came  to  the  altar  while  we  were  witnessing  the  cere- 
mony and  slipped  quickly  away  in  the  crowd  after  receiving 
the  blessing. 

So  far  as  I  can  learn  the  contribution  is  voluntary,  and  the 
amount  depends  upon  the  wealth  and  condition  of  the 
suppliant. 

The  image  is  about  three  feet  in  height,  and,  with  the 
exception  of  the  face  and  hands,  is  covered  by  embroidered 
robes  and  decorations  of  gold  and  silver  of  elaborate  and 
artistic  designs.  The  crown  of  gold,  heavily  set  with  jewels, 
is  an  elaborate  piece  of  work,  and  the  halo  of  the  same  metal 
at  least  a  foot  in  diameter  is  encircled  by  ten  diamond  stars. 
In  her  hand  the  Virgin  holds  a  golden  candlestick,  and  her 


336    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

arm  supports  a  basket  of  gold  filigree  work  which  is  said  to  be 
filled  with  costly  jewels.  The  buckle  of  her  belt  is  a  cluster 
of  large  diamonds,  and  her  robe  sparkles  with  other  gems. 

A  celebration  of  the  feast  of  the  Asuncion  of  the  Virgin 
occurred  in  the  plaza  in  front  of  the  Church  of  the  Asuncion 
while  we  were  at  La  Paz.  It  is  one  of  the  most  popular  festi- 
vals in  the  calendar  and  called  in  from  the  country  several 
thousand  Indians,  who  took  possession  of  the  town  from  noon 
of  the  day  preceding  the  anniversary  until  toward  night  of  the 
day  following. 

During  the  afternoon  and  evening  before  the  feast  the 
peons  began  to  come  into  town  in  groups  of  from  five  to  forty, 
generally  driving  a  bunch  of  burros  or  llamas  laden  with  the 
products  of  their  industry  to  sell  in  the  market  place.  Every- 
body came,  young  and  old,  infants  slung  in  shawls  over  the 
backs  of  their  mothers,  and  poor,  decrepit  old  creatures  that 
were  bent  and  haggard  with  age.  The  first  comers  took  pos- 
session of  the  plaza  in  front  of  the  church  and  the  streets  that 
approached  it,  and  spread  out  their  wares  on  the  pavement. 
Others  produced  tables  and  stands  and  booths  from  some  mys- . 
terious  quarter  and  decorated  them  with  bright-colored  mus- 
lins, festoons  of  tissue  paper  and  artificial  flowers  for  the  sale 
of  food  and  chicha  and  raw  alcohol,  which  is  the  favorite  drink 
of  the  Bolivian  Indians  and  is  consumed  in  large  quantities. 
They  want  something  that  will  take  hold  of  their  vitals,  which 
seem  to  be  made  of  leather,  and  are  as  tough  as  the  india 
rubber  of  their  forests. 

That  night  there  was  a  good  deal  of  carousing  and  some 
preliminary  ceremonies  which  we  witnessed  with  great  inter- 
est, although  we  could  not  understand  their  significance.  Most 
of  the  people  who  came  from  the  country  slept  on  the  pave- 
ments in  the  open  air  with  their  ponchos  wrapped  around  them 
and  their  heads  and  faces  enfolded  in  many  wraps,  while  theirj 
bare  feet  and  legs,  according  to  habit,  were  exposed  to  the 
freezing  atmosphere. 

In  the  morning  everybody  went  to  church.     In  order  to| 
accommodate  the  enormous  crowds  the  regular  priest  of  th< 
parish  was  assisted  by  several  monks  from  a  neighboring  mon- 


COPOCOBANA— SHRINE   OF   PATRON   SAINT  337 

astery,  and  one  mass  succeeded  another  from  daylight  until 
noon.  The  Indians  were  very  devout  in  their  demeanor. 
They  knelt  on  the  stone  floor  through  the  service  with  bowed 
heads  and  clasped  hands,  and  expressions  of  adoration  on 
their  faces.  It  was  a  solemn  and  impressive  spectacle.  Each 
worshiper  threw  into  the  plate  a  contribution,  large  or  small, 
according  to  his  means,  although  the  most  of  them  belonged  in 
other  parishes,  where  they  support  the  priests  and  pay  fees 
much  larger  in  proportion  than  the  customary  contributions  to 
religious  causes  in  more  civilized  countries. 

Along  about  2  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  began  the  dances 
and  other  ceremonies  which  have  been  inherited  from  the 
days  of  the  Incas  and  are  said  to  be  of  serious  significance, 
like  the  ghost  dances  of  the  Sioux,  the  corn  dance  of  the 
Navajoes,  the  snake  dance  of  the  Moquis,  the  sun  dance  of 
the  Crows,  and  other  similar  rites  practiced  by  the  red  men  of 
North  America.  Professor  Bandelier,  who  has  been  studying 
the  ethnology  of  the  Aymara  race  for  several  years,  says  that 
these  dances  have  a  profound  hidden  meaning  which  is  fully  un- 
derstood only  by  the  leaders  and  head  men,  but  is  appreciated 
to  a  greater  or  less  degree  by  the  ignorant  and  even  the  children. 

Each  clan  contributed  a  group  of  professional  dancers  who 
had  been  trained  for  that  duty,  and  were  adorned  with  masks 
and  costumes  that  were  often  hideous  and  grotesque.  Some 
of  the  men  were  dressed  in  the  garb  of  women,  some  repre- 
sented demons  and  animals  of  the  forest  and  the  mountains. 
One  was  clad  in  robes  that  were  intended  to  reproduce  those 
worn  by  their  former  sovereigns,  the  Incas;  others  wore  imi- 
tations of  the  vestments  of  the  priests  that  attended  the  tem- 
ples in  prehistoric  times.  Some  were  dressed  like  the  bushmen 
of  Africa;  two  or  three  carried  upon  their  heads  enormous 
bonnets  made  of  the  brilliant  plumage  of  the  birds  of  the 
Amazon,  and  several  wore  tunics  of  gorgeous  birds'  skins 
stitched  together,  with  the  claws  and  teeth  of  animals  in 
strings  about  their  necks.  There  was  a  good  deal  of  silver 
and  brass  in  their  ornaments,  and  some  of  the  embroideries 
were  of  artistic  design.  It  would  take  columns  to  describe  the 
costumes  accurately  were  it  possible  to  do  so. 


S3^    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

Each  group  of  dancers  was  attended  by  a  band  of  musi- 
cians playing  their  native  instruments.  There  were  modern 
drums,  imported  from  Europe,  but  more  of  native  manufac- 
ture made  of  hollow  segments  of  trees  and  covered  with  goat 
skins;  native  guitars  and  mandolins,  rude  pipes  of  bamboo, 
and  long  trumpets  of  reeds.  There  was  no  harmony  or  mel-B 
ody  in  their  music,  and  it  was  all  in  the  minor  key;  but  the 
airs  were  easily  distinguished  because  they  were  few  in  num- 
ber and  were  so  frequently  repeated.  Those  who  were  not 
singing  or  dancing  kept  up  a  continuous  chant  in  dreary 
monotones  and  the  leaders  moved  among  them  gesticulating 
violently  with  their  heads  and  arms. 

At  intervals  the  music  and  motion  would  cease  and  the  per- 
formers would  refresh  themselves  with  copious  draughts  of 
chicha  and  alcohol.  The  dancing  and  drinking  continued  all 
the  afternoon,  and  far  into  the  night,  until  everybody  was  in 
a  distressing  state  of  intoxication,  the  pavement  was  covered 
with  bodies  of  men  and  women  who  were  unconscious  from 
drink  and  fatigue,  and  the  remainder  were  howling  in  the 
streets. 

An  interesting  character  frequently  met  with  in  the  Andes 
is  the  callaguayas,  or  Indian  doctor,  as  he  is  familiarly  known 
to  the  people.  You  find  him  everywhere,  resting  on  the 
benches  in  the  plazas  in  the  city,  tramping  over  the  mountain 
trails,  sunning  himself  against  the  wall  of  a  cabin  by  the  rail- 
way station,  drinking  chicha  in  the  market  place,  inspecting 
cattle  in  the  corral  of  the  hacienda,  and  curing  the  sick  peons 
in  their  mud  huts.  You  find  him,  too,  in  the  railway  cars  and 
among  the  deck  passengers  on  the  coast  steamers,  where  he 
pays  his  way  by  practicing  his  profession.  With  no  wardrobe 
but  the  suit  he  wears  and  a  bright-colored  poncho,  he  travels 
barefooted  from  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  to  the  Straits  of 
Magellan,  carrying  upon  his  back  a  pack  filled  with  dried  herbs 
done  up  in  neat  paper  packages,  cheap  jewelry,  pocket  hand- 
kerchiefs and  ribbons,  watches  and  other  articles  for  personal 
adornment,  knives,  forks  and  spoons,  scissors,  small  mirrors, 
and  sometimes  combs  and  brushes  and  other  merchandise, 
which  he  sells  to  the  people  for  cash,  or  trades  for  eggs  and 


COPOCOBANA— SHRINE  OF  PATRON  SAINT  339 

poultry,  chocolate  beans  or  cocoa,  the  same  to  be  exchanged 
at  the  next  town  for  more  portable  property. 

He  is  not  only  trader,  but  tinker,  and  is  as  skillful  as  a 
Yankee  in  mending  all  sorts  of  broken  articles.  If  there  hap- 
pens to  be  a  clock  that  won't  go  or  a  leaky  tin  pan,  or  a  broken 
piece  of  crockery  he  mends  it.  He  tells  fortunes,  interprets 
signs  and  omens,  prepares  love  philters,  gives  advice  to  people 
in  trouble,  and  from  long  experience  and  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  human  nature,  together  with  a  reputation  for  superior 
natural  wisdom,  he  is  usually  able  to  do  efficient  service  in  the 
most  delicate  matters.  He  is  a  conjuror  and  a  magician,  and 
does  all  sorts  of  tricks  by  sleight-of-hand.  He  relieves  persons 
and  animals  that  are  bewitched;  he  sings  sentimental  and 
patriotic  songs,  and  improvises  to  suit  occasions,  like  the  min- 
strels that  Sir  Walter  Scott  tells  us  about,  and  the  troubadours 
of  ancient  Spain,  but  these  are  only  incidental  diversions  to 
occupy  time  and  increase  his  popularity  and  his  income. 
His  chief  business  is  that  of  a  physician  both  for  mental 
and  physical  ailments  and  for  both  man  and  beast.  If  a 
cow  or  a  donkey  is  sick  he  serves  as  a  veterinary  surgeon; 
if  distemper  invades  the  llamas  or  foot-rot  the  sheep  he  has 
remedies  that  are  effective,  and  the  natives  depend  upon 
these  wandering  Arabs  of  the  Andes  to  cure  them  of  all 
diseases.  His  knowledge  of  botany  is  as  mysterious  as  it 
is  comprehensive,  and  the  most  astonishing  stories  are  told 
of  his  cures. 

Mr.  Meier,  the  United  States  consul  at  Mollendo,  says  that 
some  years  ago  a  friend  of  his  in  Lima  was  lying  at  the  point 
of  death  with  a  disease  which  baffled  physicians  who  brought 
diplomas  from  the  medical  schools  of  Paris  and  Vienna.  One 
evening,  after  a  consultation,  two  of  them  stood  talking  of  the 
case  at  the  sick  man's  door  without  noticing  a  humble  bare- 
footed Indian  who  leaned  against  the  wall.  As  they  departed 
the  Indian  entered  the  patio  and  asked  to  see  the  sick  man. 
The  family  referred  him  to  the  attending  physician,  who, 
amazed  at  his  audacity,  exclaimed : 

"What  do  you  know  about  a  disease  that  puzzles  the  best 
physicians  in  Lima?" 


340   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

"I  have  herbs  that  will  cure  everything,"  said  the  calla- 
gTiayas. 

The  doctor  smiled  in  scorn,  and  turned  away.  The  Indian 
opened  his  pack,  unfolded  a  little  paper  and  handed  a  single 
leaf  to  the  physician,  asking  him  to  smell  it.  As  the  doctor 
did  so  his  nose  began  to  bleed,  and  he  was  unable  to  stop  the 
hemorrhage.  With  stolid  composure  the  Indian  stood  by,  and 
after  a  time  handed  another  leaf  to  the  doctor,  saying : 

"If  you  will  put  that  to  your  nose  the  bleeding  will  stop." 

The  result  was  what  he  promised,  and  the  physician  began 
to  question  the  Indian  as  to  the  nature  and  origin  of  the  herb. 
Then,  as  a  desperate  resort,  he  described  his  patient's  symp- 
toms and  asked  if  the  callaguayas  had  any  remedies  that  would 
suit  the  case.  The  Indian  produced  his  stock  of  herbs,  selected 
what  he  thought  was  necessary,  brewed  a  tea  and  gave  it  to 
the  sick  man,  who  soon  recovered. 

Other  stories  of  a  similar  sort  are  told  in  the  interior  and 
the  American  miners  in  the  mountains  of  Peru  and  Bolivia, 
who  are  often  afflicted  with  climatic  fevers,  have  the  greatest 
confidence  in  the  efficacy  of  the  remedies  and  the  skill  with 
which  they  are  administered  by  these  migratory  medicine  men. 
Their  botanical  knowledge,  however,  has  never  been  fathomed 
by  science.  They  preserve  the  greatest  secrecy  concerning 
the  herbs  they  carry  in  their  pack  and  the  source  from  which 
they  obtain  them. 

Nearly  all  the  callaguayas  come  from  the  province  of  Mu- 
naecas,  and  their  headquarters  is  at  the  town  of  Curva,  in  the 
heart  of  the  Andes,  in  the  province  of  La  Paz.  The  natives 
call  them  *'Sons  of  Santiago" — Saint  James — who  is  the  patron 
saint  of  Bolivia.  Although  they  usually  confine  their  opera- 
tions to  South  America,  they  have  been  known  to  go  to  Cen- 
tral America,  Mexico  and  even  to  Europe,  and  a  friend  of 
mine  here  says  that  some  years  ago  he  found  a  callaguayas 
from  the  town  of  Curva  kneeling  beside  him  in  a  church  at 
Rome.  There  were  two  others  in  the  party,  and  they  told 
him  that  they  had  traveled  two  years,  practicing  their  profes- 
sion with  great  success,  in  Spain,  France  and  Italy. 

The  origin  of  the  callaguayas  is  the  subject  of  conjecture, 


1 


COPOCOBANA— SHRINE   OF   PATRON   SAINT  341 

but  it  is  certain  that  he  is  a  relic  of  Inca  times,  when  the  sov- 
ereigns had  medical  men  to  minister  to  their  ills  and  minstrels 
to  furnish  entertainment  for  their  court.  They  had  jesters 
and  conjurors  like  the  kings  and  feudal  lords  of  the  middle 
ages,  whose  feats,  as  reported  by  the  Spanish  invaders,  were 
unsurpassed  by  the  magicians  of  Egypt  and  other  oriental 
nations. 

It  was  one  of  the  fixed  laws  of  the  Inca  nation,  which  with 
many  others  prevails  to  the  present  day,  that  a  son  should  fol- 
low the  profession  of  his  father,  and  it  is  not  improbable  that 
the  callaguayas  have  inherited  their  knowledge  of  botany  and 
materia  medica  from  their  ancestors  in  prehistoric  times. 
There  is  a  sort  of  Masonry  or  guild  among  them,  coming  as 
they  do  from  the  same  province,  and  in  the  desolate  moun- 
tains they  maintain  for  mutual  protection  huts  in  which  they 
can  find  shelter  from  cold  and  storms.  A  circle  of  stones  eight 
or  ten  feet  in  diameter  is  first  laid  by  way  of  foundation  to  a 
height  of  five  or  six  feet,  banked  up  on  the  outside  with  earth 
and  thatched  with  straw  and  rushes,  which  are  weighed  down 
against  the  wind  by  stones.  In  these  huts,  which  are  found 
along  trails  that  are  far  from  human  habitations,  the  wander- 
ing callaguayas  seeks  shelter  and  makes  himself  as  comfortable 
as  possible.  He  carries  in  his  pack  a  little  jerked  beef,  called 
tosajo,  parched  corn,  barley  meal,  beans  and  coca,  and  makes 
use  of  the  ever-present  fuel,  the  llama  dung  which  is  found 
along  all  over  the  mountains,  and  a  low  shrub  like  the  grease- 
wood  of  our  western  plains,  called  sin  decaspi  (the  wood  that 
bums),  which  is  full  of  resin  and  bums  like  a  pine  knot  for  a 
few  moments. 

The  natives  have  so  much  faith  in  the  skill  of  the  calla- 
guayas that  when  he  pronounces  a  sick  man  beyond  recovery 
they  abandon  all  further  attempts  to  cure  him,  give  him  little 
food  or  care  and  compel  him  to  spend  the  remaining  hours  of 
his  miserable  existence  listening  to  messages  which  they  want 
him  to  carry  to  friends  who  have  preceded  him  to  the  other 
world.  In  some  of  the  tribes  in  the  interior  of  the  country  and 
even  along  the  seacoast  it  is  their  custom  to  put  out  of  misery 
people  who  have  been  pronounced  fatallj''  ill.     There  is  a  man 


342    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

appointed  expressly  for  this  purpose,  an  executioner  of  unfor- 
tunates, who  dispatches  them  by  pressing  his  knees  upon  their 
breasts  until  they  are  unable  to  breathe. 

In  addition  to  his  other  manifold  occupations  a  callaguayas  is 
a  sort  of  traveling  postoffice  and  newspaper.  He  knows  every- 
body, and  as  he  travels  from  village  to  village  through  the 
mountains  he  carries  messages  between  friends  and  brings  the 
answer  upon  his  return  trip,  although  it  may  be  months  before 
he  comes  again.  He  bears  gifts  and  takes  charge  of  small 
packages,  for  which  he  receives  a  fee,  and  his  arrival  in  an 
isolated  pueblo  is  as  welcome  as  a  bundle  of  letters  by  people 
who  are  far  away  from  home,  for  he  relates  all  the  interesting 
gossip  he  learned  on  his  journey. 

There  is  no  question  of  the  resources  of  Bolivia.  George 
Earl  Church,  the  famous  American  engineer,  who  made  a 
thorough  exploration  of  the  country  several  years  ago,  summed 
up  his  observations  in  these  words:  *'The  mountains  are 
weighted  down  with  silver,  copper,  tin  and  other  metals,  and 
the  people  are  gazing  upon  a  wealth  sufficient  to  pay  the 
national  debts  of  the  world,  and  yet  they  are  unavailable  for 
lack  of  means  of  communication.  There  is  abundant  evidence 
that  not  a  river  carries  its  waters  from  Bolivia  to  the  Amazon 
but  washes  auriferous  deposits  as  rich  as  any  in  California  or 
Australia,  and  for  lack  of  power  to  take  machinery  to  them 
they  did  not  produce  to  exceed  ;^6o,ooo,  when  millions  should 
have  been  produced.  I  found  millions  of  sheep,  llamas  and 
alpacas  browsing  upon  the  mountain  sides,  and  not  a  c^go  of 
wool  was  exported ;  vast  herds  of  cattle  roamed  the  plains,  and 
yet  an  ox  hide  was  worth  scarcely  more  than  a  pound  of  leather 
in  the  European  market ;  hundreds  of  tons  of  the  richest  coffee 
in  the  world  rotting  on  the  bushes,  and  only  about  ten  tons  per 
annum  were  sent  abroad  as  a  rare  delicacy ;  abundant  crops  of 
sugar  in  the  river  districts  were  considered  a  misfortune  by 
the  planter,  because  there  was  no  market;  the  valleys  of 
Cochabamba  were  rich  in  cereal  wealth,  but  the  crop  was 
unsalable  when  too  great  for  home  consumption ;  not  a  valley 
or  mountain  side  but  gave  agricultural,  medicinal  and  other 
products  which  command  ready  sale  in  any  foreign  market; 


COPOCOBANA— SHRINE   OF   PATRON   SAINT  343 

sixty-five  Ijiinds  of  rare  and  beautiful  cabinet  woods  stood 
untouched  by  man  in  the  great  virgin  forests  of  the  north 
and  east." 

While  the  facilities  for  transportation  have  improved  since 
the  above  was  written  and  the  departments  of  La  Paz  and 
Oruro  now  enjoy  steam  communication  with  the  outside  world, 
the  remainder  of  Bolivia  is  as  isolated  as  it  was  in  the  time  of 
the  Incas,  her  vast  natural  wealth  is  inaccessible  and  the  great 
bulk  of  her  products  cannot  be  exported  profitably. 

The  population  of  Bolivia  is  somewhere  between  2,000,000 
and  3,000,000.  There  has  not  been  a  census  since  1854,  when 
the  enumeration  showed  634,345  whites  and  cholos,  and  1,691,- 
781  Indians,  a  total  of  2,326,126.  The  popular  impression  is 
that  the  total  has  decreased  since  that  time,  but  the  number  of 
cholos  has  increased.  They  are  the  mulatto  es  of  the  country, 
the  result  of  a  mixture  of  white  and  Indian  blood,  and  furnish 
the  middle  class,  the  mechanics,  small  shopkeepers  and 
domestic  servants.  The  preponderance  of  Indians,  who  are 
absolutely  illiterate  and  have  a  strong  aversion  to  education, 
makes  improvement  seem  almost  hopeless.  The  cholos  prob- 
ably number  400,000  and  there  are  not  more  than  150,000 
whites  in  the  entire  country. 

There  is  a  public-school  system  provided  by  the  municipal- 
ities and  the  state  under  the  supervision  of  a  member  of  the 
cabinet.  Education  is  free  and  compulsory;  nevertheless,  in 
1890,  when  the  latest  reports  were  published,  there  were  only 
27,754  pupils  reported  out  of  a  population  of  more  than  2,000,- 
000,  which  does  not  promise  much  improvement  for  the  next 
generation.  For  primary  education  for  the  common  people 
there  were  only  493  schools  in  the  entire  territory  of  784,554 
square  miles,  which  is  less  than  an  average  of  ten  for  each 
province,  and  only  649  teachers  and  24,244  pupils.  There  are 
five  universities,  in  which  511  young  men  are  studying  law, 
105  are  studying  medicine,  and  768  are  studying  theology,  a 
total  of  1,384  There  are  sixteen  colleges  and  preparatory 
schools,  with  2,126  students  and  ninety-one  teachers. 

The  language  of  the  white  people  is  Spanish,  but  in  the 
fields,  the  markets  and  the  workshops  the  Indian  dialects  are 


344   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

spoken,  and  most  of  the  natives  are  familiar  with  the  Quichua 
or  Aymara  languages,  having  acquired  them  in  childhood  from 
their  nurses  and  servants.  Those  are  the  languages  of  the 
household,  and  not  lo  per  cent  of  the  population  can  speak 
Spanish. 

The  best  parts  of  Bolivia — the  most  fertile  soil  and  the  rich- 
est stores  of  mineral  wealth — are  on  the  Atlantic  slope.  The 
western  slopes  are  sandy  deserts,  which  will  produce  abun- 
dantly when  they  can  be  reached  by  water.  Between  the 
ranges  of  mountains,  the  plateau,  or  great  Andean  basin, 
although  it  is  the  most  thickly  settled  portion  of  the  republic, 
is  cold  and  barren,  but  on  the  eastern  territories  everything 
that  nature  has  provided  for  the  benefit  of  mankind  is  found 
in  the  greatest  luxuriance.  That  part  of  the  country,  however, 
is  inhabited  by  savage  tribes  of  Beni  Indians,  who  are  hostile 
and  retard  its  settlement.  They  are  migratory  and  barbarous, 
they  have  no  written  language  and  no  fixed  homes.  The 
Quicha  and  Aymara  Indians  live  in  villages,  and  their  language 
is  not  only  printed,  but  has  a  grammar  and  a  dictionary,  and 
portions  of  the  holy  scriptures  have  been  printed  in  several  of 
the  dialects. 

Bolivia  has  no  seaport  on  the  Pacific  Ocean.  It  formerly 
owned  a  long  strip  of  the  coast,  which  was  stolen  by  Chile 
during  the  war  of  1881.  Chile  has  offered  Bolivia  a  port  at 
what  is  known  as  Victor  Run,  or  Victor  Gully,  about  eighteen 
miles  south  of  Arica,  where  there  is  a  good  harbor  and  a  valley 
that  slopes  gradually  from  the  mountains  to  the  sea,  but  the 
natural  outlet  of  the  country  is  the  Amazon,  and  within  that 
territory  are  over  3,000  miles  of  navigable  waters,  which  might 
easily  be  opened  to  commerce  but  for  the  existence  of  rapids 
in  the  Madeira  River  at  the  northeastern  boundary  of  the 
republic.  In  1833  the  government  offered  a  reward  of  $20,000 
to  the  first  person  who  reached  Bolivia  from  the  Atlantic  Ocean 
by  steamer  by  way  of  any  river  that  runs  from  south  to  north, 
and  $10,000  by  way  of  any  river  which  flows  from  north  to 
south.  That  decree  stimulated  exploration  and  demonstrated 
that  it  was  possible  to  reach  the  Atlantic  by  canoe  via  the 
Paraguay  and  Parana  rivers,  as  well  as  the  Amazon,  but  the 


COPOCOBANA— SHRINE   OF   PATRON   SAINT  345 

prize  was  never  applied  for.  The  government  has  sent  out 
several  exploring  parties,  and  several  concessions  have  been 
granted  for  the  construction  of  a  railway  around  the  rapids  of 
the  Madeira,  but  the  undeveloped  condition  of  the  country,  the 
inhospitable  climate  and  the  hostility  of  the  Indians  have  pre- 
vented the  investment  of  the  large  sum  needed  for  that  pur- 
pose. A  considerable  portion  of  the  forest  and  agricultural 
products  of  Bolivia  reach  market  by  way  of  the  Amazon — 
particularly  coca,  coffee  and  rubber — but  it  is  carried  on  balsas 
and  canoes  to  the  foot  of  the  rapids,  where  there  is  a  town 
named  San  Antonio,  the  terminus  of  steam  navigation  on  the 
Amazon,  700  miles  from  its  mouth. 

The  rubber  forests  of  Bolivia  are  practically  unlimited,  and 
are  a  source  of  wealth  much  more  easily  reached  and  devel- 
oped than  the  mines.  There  is  no  gambling  or  risk  in  a  rub- 
ber quinta,  provided  the  owner  can  obtain  labor  and  can  send 
his  product  to  market.  The  demand  is  unlimited  and  increas- 
ing every  year,  and  the  government  of  Bolivia  or  of  Peru  will 
sell  unlimited  areas  of  natural  forests  of  rubber  trees  at  a  nom- 
inal price  to  any  one  who  will  develop  them.  The  trees  grow 
on  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Andes  and  in  the  warmer  valleys, 
and  the  forests  can  be  reached  on  muleback  from  La  Paz,  from 
the  steamboat  stations  on  Lake  Titicaca,  and  also  from  the 
railway  that  runs  from  Puno  to  the  north  of  Peru. 

The  first  step  in  starting  a  rubber  plantation  is  to  clear 
away  the  underbrush  and  cut  out  the  dead  trees,  which  is  a 
task  of  great  labor  and  difficulty,  because  the  vegetation  is 
dense  and  represents  the  growth  of  ages ;  but  when  it  is  once 
done  the  property  has  increased  in  value  a  hundred  fold,  and 
the  rest  of  the  job  is  easy.  Thereafter  all  that  is  necessary  to 
do  is  to  keep  the  ground  clear,  see  that  the  trees  have  plenty 
of  light  and  air,  are  free  from  parasites  and  are  allowed  to 
enjoy  the  food  which  nature  has  stored  in  the  soil.  Formerly, 
with  that  improvidence  which  seems  so  natural  to  mankind, 
the  rubber  trees  were  cut  down  in  order  to  get  the  sap,  but 
nowadays  they  are  cultivated  like  an  orchard,  and  science  has 
demonstrated  that  good  care  will  be  repaid  a  thousand  fold. 

The  process  of  making  rubber  is  much  like  that  of  making 


346    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

maple  sugar.  The  trees  are  tapped  when  the  sap  begins  t< 
run,  and  the  milk,  as  they  call  it,  is  boiled  in  a  big  kettle  until 
it  is  reduced  to  its  proper  consistency.  In  some  parts  oi 
Brazil  the  natives  find  a  vine  whose  juice  will  cause  the  milk 
of  the  rubber  tree  to  coagulate  without  the  use  of  heat,  but  the 
common  process  is  to  '*boil  it  down"  with  all  its  impurities 
and  allow  the  manufacturer  to  refine  it. 

It  is  admitted  that  the  coffee  grown  in  the  Yungas  Valley 
is  the  finest  in  the  world,  but  very  little  of  it  reaches  the  mar- 
ket, and  that  is  sold  to  epicures  in  France  and  Spain  or  sent  as 
presents  by  people  in  Bolivia  to  their  friends  in  Europe.  The 
Yungas  berry  is  very  small — about  half  as  large  as  that  grown 
in  Brazil  and  Central  America — but  it  has  great  strength  and 
a  fine  flavor. 

The  most  useful  to  mankind  of  all  the  natural  products  of 
South  America  is  probably  the  familiar  drug  made  from  the 
bark  of  the  quina  tree,  which  was  used  by  the  Incas  as  a  curej 
for  fevers  and  malarial  diseases.  A  Jesuit  missionary  discov- 
ered this  fact  and  brought  some  of  the  bark  to  Lima,  where  its 
efficacy  was  demonstrated  by  the  countess  of  Cinchon,  whose 
husband  was  a  viceroy  of  Peru  in  the  early  days  of  Spanish 
domination.  She  sent  it  to  Spain  as  a  remedy  for  fevers,  and 
no  drug  mentioned  in  the  dictionary  has  been  consumed  in, 
larger  quantities  or  has  afforded  greater  relief  to  suffering 
humanity.  It  was  originally  known  as  Jesuit's  bark,  because 
it  was  brought  to  notice  by  those  enterprising  and  inquisitive 
scouts  of  the  church.  It  was  more  extensively  advertised  as 
Peruvian  bark,  but  the  botanical  name  is  cinchona,  in  com- 
pliment to  the  fair  lady  who  first  sent  it  to  civilization.  Cin- 
chona is  found  all  through  the  Andes,  from  the  Argentine 
Republic  to  the  Spanish  main,  but  the  supply  was  greatly] 
diminished  by  the  perversity  of  the  Spaniards,  who  cut  down 
the  trees  before  they  stripped  them.  That  has  been  prohibited 
by  law,  and  only  a  portion  of  the  bark  may  be  taken  from  the 
trunk  of  a  tree  each  year,  and  not  more  than  nature  is  able  to 
replace. 

England,  with  that  provident  foresight  which  characterizes 
much  of  her  political  economy  and  colonial  policy,  several 


COPOCOBAN A— SHRINE   OF  PATRON   SAINT    347 

years  ago  sent  Mr.  Spruce,  the  eminent  botanist,  to  Peru. 
He  made  a  large  collection  of  cinchona  plants,  which  were 
transplanted  in  Ceylon,  India,  Burma  and  other  colonies  of  the 
east,  where  they  have  been  since  cultivated  with  great  success, 
so  that  most  of  the  world's  supply  now  comes  from  the  British 
possessions.  During  the  last  few  years  the  Germans  have 
taken  hold  of  the  trade  in  Bolivia,  arid  are  now  cultivating  it 
with  their  usual  skill.  Probably  6,500,000  trees  have  been  set 
out  in  the  last  ten  years  by  them.  One  man  has  put  out  at 
least  2,000,000  trees,  and  another  nearly  as  many.  The- 
"quinales,"  as  they  are  called,  are  still  in  their  infancy,  but 
are  beginning  to  pay,  and  promise  to  be  very  profitable.  The 
trees  are  just  now  large  enough  to  lose  a  little  of  their  bark, 
but  they  will  soon  be  the  source  of  a  large  supply. 

Coca  is  also  cultivated  in  a  similar  way  and  promises  equal 
profit.  It  was  cultivated  by  the  Incas  in  terraces  on  the  moun- 
tain sides,  which  have  been  compared  to  the  vineyards  of  Tus- 
cany and  the  holy  land.  It  is  a  member  of  the  flax  family — a 
shrub  that  looks  like  the  orange  and  bears  a  small  white  blos- 
som and  bright  green  leaves.  The  leaves  are  plucked  by 
women  and  children,  dried  in  the  sun  very  much  as  the 
Chinese  prepare  their  tea,  and  then  inclosed  for  export  in 
green  hides,  which  are  sewed  up  with  stout  cord  and  rolled  in 
the  sun  to  dry.  The  shrinking  of  the  hides  presses  the  coca 
leaves  into  a  compact  mass  such  as  you  see  in  the  warehouses 
of  manufacturing  druggists.  The  Indians  of  Bolivia  have 
adopted  this  method  as  a  form  of  torture,  and  sometimes  sew 
their  victims  up  in  green  hides  in  the  same  way.  When  the 
hide  dries  it  shrinks  and  crushes  the  bones  and  flesh  with  the 
most  excruciating  agony. 

Nearly  all  the  Indians  of  Bolivia  and  Peru  chew  coca, 
which  is  the  strongest  nerve  tonic  known,  and  under  its  influ- 
ence perform  incredible  labor  and  endure  remarkable  fatigue. 
The  influence  of  moderate  doses  is  stimulating  to  the  nerves 
and  to  the  muscular  system.  It  also  produces  an  intellectual 
excitement,  sharpens  the  sight  and  hearing,  increases  the  skill 
of  the  hands  and  awakens  all  the  senses.  But  when  taken  in 
excess  it  is  worse  than  opium  or  any  other  intoxicant.     A 


348    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

**coquero"  or  coca  drunkard  cannot  digest  food,  his  taste  is 
destroyed,  and  he  loses  the  sense  of  smell.  He  can  eat  the 
most  disgusting  food  and  drink  the  most  nauseating  draughts 
without  the  slightest  sensation,  as  the  mucous  membrane  is 
paralyzed,  the  throat,  the  interior  of  the  mouth  and  the  tongue, 
as  well  as  the  palate,  are  in  a  state  of  insensibility, 
**Cocaismo,'*  as  the  habitual  use  of  coca  is  called,  produces 
moral  and  intellectual  degradation  more  rapidly  than  either 
opium  or  alcohol.  It  perverts  human  nature,  and  its  tendency 
is  to  develop  brutality  and  vice.  The  use  of  the  drug  by  the 
Indians  of  Bolivia  is  said  to  be  the  cause  of  their  vicious 
disposition. 

Used  in  moderation  by  the  shepherds  in  the  snowy  pampas, 
by  the  arrerios  who  follow  trains  of  llamas  and  donkeys  over 
the  mountain  trails,  by  the  toilers  in  the  mines,  and  others 
whose  labor  is  attended  by  privation  and  fatigue,  and  for  its 
medicinal  properties,  which  are  well  known,  it  is  a  great 
blessing. 

The  Indians  chew  the  ordinary  dried  leaf  with  potash  made 
from  the  skins  of  potatoes,  rolled  into  a  little  ball  called  an 
**acullico,"  which  is  chewed  deliberately  and  retained  in  the 
mouth  for  twenty-five  or  thirty  minutes.  A  little  pouch, 
which  every  Indian  wears  around  his  neck  or  attached  to  his 
girdle  to  carry  his  supply  is  called  a  "chuspa."  By  the  mod- 
erate use  of  coca  an  Indian  can  pass  several  days  and  nights 
without  food,  and  people  often  make  journeys  through  the 
mountains  with  no  other  sustenance. 

The  quinine  plantations,  or  quinales,  as  they  are  called, 
which  have  been  started  in  this  country  by  the  Germans,  are 
usually  found  on  rough  and  broken  mountain  sides  and  at  alti- 
tudes of  3,000  or  4,000  feet  above  the  sea.  The  trees  will  grow 
as  high  as  8,000  feet,  but  they  flourish  best  at  an  elevation  of 
about  4,000,  for  they  require  a  great  deal  of  sun,  rain  and  wind 
to  reach  perfection. 

Most  of  the  groves  have  been  raised  from  the  seed,  which  is 
gathered  in  the  early  summer  months  and  planted  in  hot- 
houses. When  the  plants  are  about  six  inches  high  they  are 
transplanted  upon  the  hillsides,  which  have  been  cleared  of 


COPOCOBANA— SHRINE  OF   PATRON   SAINT  349 

underbrush  and  plowed  up  beforehand,  so  that  the  young  roots 
can  secure  the  benefit  of  all  the  moisture  and  plant  food  in  the 
soil  and  the  heat  of  the  sun.  For  shelter  they  are  partially 
covered  with  twigs,  straw  or  other  light  stuff,  which  also 
serves  to  keep  the  moisture  and  heat  in  the  ground.  After 
about  two  years  this  shelter  is  raked  off,  the  plants  are  care- 
fully inspected,  and  those  which  are  not  promising  are  replaced 
by  new  ones.  The  ground  around  them  is  kept  clear  of  weeds, 
and  the  young  trees  are  carefully  trimmed  twice  a  year.  In 
five  or  six  years  the  tree  will  have  reached  the  height  of 
twelve  or  fourteen  feet,  and  its  trunk  will  be  straight  and 
slender,  with  a  diameter  of  about  six  inches.  It  resembles 
the  orange  tree  in  size  and  shape,  and  the  peculiar  gloss  of 
its  leaves. 

Two  or  three  times  a  year  three  or  four  strips  of  bark 
about  two  inches  wide  and  from  two  to  eight  feet  long  are  cut 
from  the  trunk  and  thrown  upon  a  paved  yard  to  dry,  where  as 
the  moisture  evaporates  they  curl  up  like  cinnamon.  Within 
a  year  or  so  nature  replaces  the  bark  that  has  thus  been 
stripped  off,  and  the  tree  is  stripped  again  in  other  places. 
As  it  grows  older  smaller  strips  can  be  taken  from  the  stronger 
branches,  and  a  mature  tree  will  produce  an  annual  average 
of  about  four  pounds  of  bark.  ^ 

The  bark  dries  in  a  few  days,  and  is  packed  for  shipment  in 
rawhide  bales.  The  most  of  it  is  shipped  from  Arica  and 
MoUendo. 

The  Indians  regard  the  coca  with  extreme  reverence.  Von 
Tschudi,  the  Austrian  scientist,  who  made  a  most  thorough 
study  of  the  ancient  customs  of  the  Incas,  says:  "During 
divine  worship  the  priests  chewed  coca  leaves,  and  unless  they 
were  supplied  with  them  it  was  believed  that  the  favor  of  the 
gods  could  not  be  propitiated.  It  was  also  deemed  necessary 
that  the  supplicator  for  divine  grace  should  approach  the 
priests  with  an  *acullico'  in  his  mouth.  It  was  believed  that 
any  business  undertaken  without  the  benediction  of  coca  leaves 
could  not  prosper,  and  to  the  shrub  itself  worship  was  ren- 
dered. During  an  interval  of  more  than  300  years  Christianity 
has  not  been  able  to  subdue  this   deep-rooted  idolatry,  for 


350   BETWEEN   THE  ANDES   AND  THE   OCEAN 

everywhere  we  find  traces  of  belief  in  the  mysterious  powers 
of  this  plant.  The  excavators  in  the  mines  of  Cerro  del  Pasco 
throw  chewed  coca  upon  the  hard  veins  of  metal  in  the  belief 
that  it  softens  the  ore  and  renders  it  more  easy  to  work.  The 
Indians  even  at  the  present  time  put  coca  leaves  in  the  mouths 
of  dead  persons  in  order  to  secure  them  a  favorable  reception 
on  their  entrance  into  another  world,  and  when  a  Peruvian  on 
a  journey  falls  in  with  a  mummy,  he,  with  timid  reverence, 
presents  to  it  some  coca  leaves  as  his  pious  offering." 

One  of  the  scientific  explorers  who  has  been  working  up  in 
this  region  told  me  of  his  experience  with  a  coca  chewer.  "A 
man  was  employed  by  me,"  he  said,  *'in  very  laborious  dig- 
ging. During  the  five  days  and  nights  he  was  in  my  service 
he  never  tasted  food  and  took  only  two  hours'  sleep  each  night, 
but  at  intervals  of  two  hours  and  a  half  or  three  hours  he 
repeatedly  chewed  about  half  an  ounce  of  coca  leaves  and  kept 
an  'acullico'  continually  in  his  mouth.  I  was  constantly 
beside  him,  and  therefore  had  the  opportunity  of  closely 
observing  him.  The  work  for  which  I  had  engaged  him  being 
finished,  he  accompanied  me  on  a  two  days'  journey  across  the 
level  ground.  Though  on  foot,  he  kept  the  pace  of  my  mule 
and  halted  only  for  the  chaccar  (chewing).  On  leaving  me  he 
declared  that  he  would  willingly  engage  himself  again  for  the 
same  amount  of  work,  and  that  he  would  go  through  it  with- 
out food  if  I  would  but  allow  him  a  sufficient  supply  of  coca. 
The  village  priest  assured  me  that  this  man  was  62  years  of 
age,  and  that  he  had  never  known  him  to  be  ill  in  his  life. ' ' 

Driving  in  the  country  one  day,  I  met  upon  the  road  a 
group  of  peons — a  dozen  or  more.  Two  of  them  staggered 
along  with  a  rail  upon  their  shoulders.  Hung  from  the  rail 
was  a  hammock,  and  lying  in  the  hammock  was  a  man  ill  of 
fever,  being  carried  six  miles  under  a  blistering  heat  in  the 
middle  of  the  day  to  the  hospital.  The  only  shelter  he  had 
from  the  sun  was  a  woolen  poncho  thrown  over  the  rail,  which 
hung  down  on  each  side  of  him,  and  there  he  lay,  with  every 
breath  of  air  kept  from  him,  and  that  heavy  poncho  flopping 
in  his  fevered  face.  He  was  a  man  of  large  stature,  and  not 
an  easy  load,  so  that  the  men  who  carried  him  had  to  shift 


COPOCOBANA— SHRINE  OF   PATRON   SAINT  351 

their  burden  to  the  shoulders  of  others  every  few  minutes. 
The  change  was  attended  with  a  great  deal  of  jabbering  and 
considerable  excitement,  but  the  sick  man  lay  motionless,  with 
his  livid  eyes  fixed  upon  vacancy  and  a  rosary  in  his  hands. 

"Why  don't  you  wait  till  the  cool  of  the  day  to  make  the 
journey?"  I  asked. 

"Because  the  morning  and  the  night  air  are  bad  for  fever," 
was  the  reply. 

"Isn't  there  an  ambulance  you  could  get?" 

The  men  stared  for  a  moment  as  if  puzzled  by  the  inquiry, 
then  exchanged  a  few  words  in  undertones.  Finally  one  of 
them  explained  that  they  did  not  know  what  an  ambulance 
was. 

I  described  one  to  them  as  they  rested  under  the  shade  of 
a  mango  tree,  and  the  leader  remarked  that  such  a  vehicle 
would  not  be  as  good  as  a  hammock  because  the  roads  were 
so  rough,  and  I  concluded  he  was  right. 

There  are  few  roads  in  South  America  and  those  are  found 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  large  cities.  Nine-tenths  of  the 
interior  transportation  is  done  on  the  backs  of  donkeys,  little 
patient  burros  so  small  and  light  that  a  man  could  lift  a  large 
one,  yet  they  are  the  strongest  beasts  in  the  world  in  propor- 
tion to  their  size  and  can  carry  all  that  can  be  packed  upon 
them.  Their  limbs  are  not  larger  than  the  arms  of  a  child, 
and  their  hoofs  are  about  the  size  of  a  base  ball  cut  in  half, 
but  they  will  climb  any  mountain  path  that  a  man  can  scram- 
ble over,  and  are  as  enduring  and  patient  as  time  itself. 

Two  bags  of  coffee  weighing  100  pounds  each  can  be 
strapped  on  the  saddle  and  then  the  owner  will  mount  and 
ride  upon  the  top  of  them  with  his  legs  hanging  down  each 
side  of  the  donkey's  nose.  I  have  often  seen  two  men,  and 
occasionally  three,  on  the  back  of  a  little  beast  that  would  not 
weigh  more  than  any  one  of  them,  and  it  trotted  along  the 
road  as  cheerfully  as  a  child  going  home  from  school.  When 
they  carry  sugar  cane  they  are  loaded  until  you  cannot  see 
either  their  legs  or  neck,  but  only  a  little  head  with  bright 
eyes  and  nodding  ears  sticking  out  from  under  a  mountain  of 
foliage.     The  natives  strap  a  railroad  rail  to  three  or  four 


352    BETWEEN   THE  ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

donkeys  and  carry  heavy  timber  upon  them,  using  much 
ingenuity  and  skill  in  securing  a  proper  balance,  and  fastening 
the  load. 

But,  as  a  usual  thing  the  "mozos,"  as  the  drivers  are 
called,  are  gentle  and  kind  to  their  animals  and  not  so  abusive 
as  men  of  other  races.  They  carry  a  stick  and  often  beat  the 
load,  or  crack  a  whip  violently  if  they  have  one,  but  you 
seldom  see  a  donkey  beaten. 

The  horses  mostly  are  tough  little  bronchos  like  those  of 
Texas  and  Colorado,  with  great  endurance  and  considerable 
speed.  They  will  travel  all  day  without  food  and  water  and 
the  fashion  the  hackmen  have  of  plunging  through  the  narrow 
streets  is  said  to  be  due  to  the  inability  of  the  animals  to  go 
slowly.  No  matter  whether  you  are  driving  **by  the  job"  or 
by  the  hour,  the  horses  are  kept  constantly  at  the  top  of  their 
speed  and  the  rough  stone  pavements  and  constant  apprehen- 
sion of  collisions  or  other  accidents  robs  a  ride  of  most  of  its 
pleasure. 

The  saddle  horses  are  superb.  They  are  trained  to  a  gen- 
tle amble  called  the  **trote  de  paseo,"  which  is  as  comfortable 
as  a  cradle  and  so  gentle  that  an  experienced  horseman  can 
carry  a  full  glass  of  water  in  his  hand  without  spilling  a  drop. 
It  is  said  that  this  *'trote  de  paseo"  is  natural,  that  it  is  inbred 
in  the  horses,  inherited  from  animals  that  were  ridden  in  the 
early  days  when  it  was  the  fashion  of  the  rider  to  sit  upon  a 
saddle  cloth  fringed  all  around  with  tassels  of  silver ;  that  the 
horses  did  not  like  to  have  these  ornaments  dangling  against 
their  legs  and  took  a  mincing  gait  so  as  to  carry  them  with  as  j 
little  motion  as  possible. 

Horseback  riding  is  common.  Nearly  every  gentleman 
owns  his  saddle  horse,  although  I  have  never  seen  a  lady 
mounted  except  when  traveling  in  the  interior  where  there 
are  no  roads  fit  for  carriages.  As  this  is  the  condition  of  the 
greater  part  of  the  country  the  people  are  compelled  to  take 
to  the  saddle. 


XXII 
THE  NITRATE  DESERTS  OF  CHILE 

The  first  port  of  interest  and  importance  south  of  Mol- 
lendo,  where  the  railway  to  Bolivia  terminates,  is  Arica,  which 
is  famous  for  several  reasons.  It  was  here  that  Hernando 
Pizarro  built  the  vessels  with  which  the  conquistador es  scoured 
the  coast  and  carried  the  troops  for  the  invasion  of  Chile.  It 
was  a  city  of  importance  at  the  time  of  the  Spanish  invasion — 
of  much  greater  importance  than  now — and  the  country  back 
of  it  was  densely  populated  with  aborigines  who  cultivated 
tropical  fruits  and  vegetables  by  means  of  irrigation.  It  is 
supposed  to  have  been  founded  in  the  year  1250  by  the  Inca 
Tahuar  Huacca.  The  oranges  of  Arica  are  famous  up  and 
down  the  coast,  and  the  agricultural  part  of  the  territory  that 
lies  behind  the  range  of  forbidding  hills  is  one  of  the  most 
beautiful,  fertile  and  prosperous  on  the  coast.  Near  by, 
where  the  waves  of  the  Pacific  chase  each  other  over  a  long, 
wide  beach,  is  a  vast  cemetery  of  prehistoric  date  filled  with 
the  dead  of  centuries  who  were  embalmed  with  great  skill  and 
care  and  whose  bodies  are  preserved  as  perfectly  as  the  mum- 
mies of  Egypt. 

From  Arica  runs  a  great  highway  into  the  interior  of  Peru 
and  Bolivia  which  was  constructed  by  the  Incas  a  thousand 
years  ago  and  has  been  constantly  used  ever  since.  Caravans 
of  mules,  burrows  and  llamas  are  constantly  passing  up  and 
down  this  ancient  trail,  carrying  inward  vast  quantities  of 
foreign  merchandise  and  bringing  out  the  products  of  the 
mines,  forests  and  the  pastures  of  the  interior.  This  road, 
known  as  the  **camino  real,"  is  about  240  miles  long,  from 
Tacna  to  La  Paz. 

Near  Arica  is  supposed  to  be  the  outlet  of  Lake  Titicaca 
and  Lake  Popo,  those  mysterious  bodies  of  water  that  lie 

353 


354   BETWEEN   THE  ANDES  AND   THE  OCEAN        . 

between  the  two  ranges  of  the  Andes.  Although  they  draii 
a  large  area  and  receive  the  waters  of  many  streams,  some  of 
which  are  navigable,  these  lakes  have  no  visible  outlet,  but 
continue  at  about  the  same  level  the  whole  year  around.  It 
is  believed  that  there  is  an  immense  subterranean  river  which 
passes  under  the  mountains  and  the  desert  and  finds  its  outlet 
in  the  ocean  in  the  neighborhood  of  Arica.  Scientists  find 
many  phenomena  which  seem  to  corroborate  this  opinion. 

This  theory  is  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  the  peccajay,  a 
small  fish  resembling  the  smelt,  which  abounds  in  the  fresh 
waters  of  the  mountains  and  in  the  two  lakes  named,  can  be 
caught  in  large  numbers  in  the  ocean  near  Arica,  and  nowhere 
else  along  the  coast.  The  fishermen  often  find  floating  upon' 
the  surface  of  the  sea,  and  among  the  driftwood  on  the  beach, 
logs  of  wood  and  other  vegetation  peculiar  to  the  highlands  of 
Bolivia  and  Peru,  but  unknown  within  150  miles  of  the  coast. 

Arica  has  been  the  scene  of  several  terrible  catastrophes. 
The  town  has  been  destroyed  by  earthquakes  several  times, 
and  August  13,  1868,  it  was  almost  washed  away  and  nearly 
all  of  its  inhabitants  perished  in  a  tidal  wave  which  came  with- 
out a  warning  and  devastated  the  coast  for  100  miles  or  more. 
Lying  in  the  harbor  were  the  United  States  men-of-war  the 
Wateree  and  the  Fredonia,  which  were  on  their  way  to  San 
Francisco.  A  wave  sixty  feet  high,  which  came  sweeping  in 
from  the  ocean,  lifted  them  from  their  moorings  and  carried 
them  over  the  roofs  of  the  city  about  a  mile  inland.  The 
Fredonia  was  dashed  against  a  ledge  of  rocks  and  entirely 
destroyed,  while  the  Wateree  was  left  lying  upon  a  level  keel 
in  the  sand  where  she  has  remained  ever  since.  Every  soul 
on  the  former  vessel  was  lost,  but  about  half  the  officers  and 
crew  of  the  Wateree,  who  remained  below  decks,  survived  the 
deluge  and  escaped  when  the  water  receded.  For  many  years 
the  Wateree  was  used  as  a  boarding  house  for  the  laborers 
employed  upon  the  railway,  but  when  that  was  completed  the 
hulk  was  abandoned  and  has  since  been  carried  off  bit  by  bit 
by  the  people  for  fuel  and  building  material.  All  that  remains 
of  her  now  is  a  skeleton  of  iron  in  the  midst  of  a  desert  about 
a  mile  from  the  beach  and  two  miles  or  more  from  the  city. 


THE  NITRATE   DESERTS  OF  CHILE  355 

All  of  the  other  shipping  in  the  harbor  was  entirely  destroyed 
and  the  town  was  almost  wiped  out  of  existence. 

On  June  7,  1880,  during  the  war  between  Chile  and  Peru, 
Arica  was  the  scene  of  a  furious  battle  and  frightful  massacre. 
At  one  end  of  the  town  is  a  promontory,  with  a  precipice 
looking  sheer  downward  600  feet  to  the  sea  and  sloping  off  at 
a  steep  grade  to  the  plains  behind.  Upon  this  point  the 
Peruvians  had  erected  a  powerful  battery  to  defend  the 
harbor,  but  the  Chileans  landed  a  force  of  4,000  men  through 
the  surf  a  few  miles  below  and  during  the  night  marched 
them  along  the  beach  toward  Arica.  When  the  sun  rose  the 
Peruvians  on  the  Morro,  as  it  is  called,  found  themselves 
attacked  in  the  rear,  with  no  means  of  escape.  Their  guns, 
pointing  in  the  opposite  direction,  were  useless,  as  they  had 
been  planted  so  as  to  command  the  harbor  only.  They  were 
short  of  small  arms  and  ammunition,  but  made  a  desperate 
defense,  and  after  a  hand-to-hand  contest  that  lasted  less  than 
an  hour  the  Peruvian  force  was  exterminated.  The  com- 
mander leaped  over  the  precipice  into  the  sea,  and  his  body 
was  crushed  to  a  pulp  among  the  rocks.  Several  hundred  of 
his  soldiers  followed  him,  preferring  to  die  that  way  than  to 
have  their  throats  cut  by  the  Chileans.  More  were  crowded 
over  the  precipice  by  the  advancing  enemy  at  the  point  of  the 
bayonet,  and  for  months  afterward  their  bodies  could  be  seen 
lying  where  they  lodged  upon  the  jutting  rocks  beyond  the 
reach  of  human  hands.  It  is  asserted  that  1,700  Peruvians 
were  killed,  which  was  the  strength  of  the  garrison,  for  no 
prisoners  were  taken. 

Upon  the  slope  of  the  Morro,  as  it  is  approached  from  the 
south,  and  near  its  summit,  where  it  can  be  seen  for  a  long 
distance,  is  an  inscription  in  whitewashed  stones — *'Viva 
Battalion  No.  4" — which  was  placed  there  by  the  victors  to 
commemorate  the  tragedy. 

Just  south  of  the  Morro  is  a  long,  flat  desert  of  shifting 
sands,  in  which  innumerable  bodies  are  buried.  Interred 
with  them  are  many  interesting  and  curious  implements, 
utensils  and  other  articles  of  use  and  adornment,  which, 
according  to  the  theory  of  the  Incas,  would  be  useful  to  them 


356   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND  THE   OCEAN 


in  the  hereafter.  The  Incas  believed  in  the  immortality  of 
the  soul  and  the  influence  and  activity  of  disembodied  spirits. 
Hence  they  buried  with  the  dead  their  arms  and  implements, 
the  tools  of  their  trade  and  the  ornaments  they  wore  while 
living. 

Here  also  are  found  those  curious  phenomena  known  as 
"mummies'  eyes,"  little  hemispherical  objects  about  the  size 
of  a  seed  onion,  and  made  in  concave  films  which  fit  so  closely 
as  to  be  imperceptible,  but  can  be  peeled  off  by  the  use  of  a 
knife  or  any  sharp  instrument.  They  are  translucent  and 
have  a  deep,  rich  amber  tint,  which,  when  polished,  takes  on 
a  beautiful  luster.  But,  notwithstanding  their  beauty,  they 
are  useless  as  jewels,  because  they  are  so  sensitive  to  damp- 
ness and  atmospherical  changes,  and,  being  composed  of 
animal  matter,  cannot  endure  the  climate  of  the  northern  zone. 

Although  the  natives  believe  them  to  be  the  natural  eyes 
of  the  dead,  scientists  declare  that  they  are  the  eyes  of  the 
squid  or  cuttle  fish,  which  abound  on  this  coast.  It  is  their 
theory  that  in  preserving  the  bodies  the  Incas  removed  the 
natural  eye,  which  is  the  first  part  of  the  human  system  to 
decay  after  death,  and,  after  removing  the  brains  through  the 
cavity,  their  emblamers  substituted  the  eyes  of  the  cuttlefish 
in  order  to  give  the  face  of  the  mummy  a  lifelike  appearance. 
This,  however,  is  only  conjecture. 

Some  years  ago  I  brought  a  number  of  these  mummies* 
eyes  to  New  York  and  left  them  with  Tiffany  to  be  polished 
and  mounted  in  gold  for  a  necklace,  but  the  work  was  aban- 
doned because  the  men  who  were  employed  in  polishing  them 
were  seized  with  a  mysterious  illness,  with  symptoms  of 
poisoning.  A  violent  irritation  appeared  in  their  eyes,  lips 
and  nostrils  and  in  some  cases  affected  their  throats,  supposed 
to  have  been  caused  by  dust  inhaled  from  the  emery  wheels 
used  in  the  process.  Fortunately  they  all  recovered,  but  the 
work  was  not  resumed.  Portions  of  the  eyes  were  analyzed 
and  found  to  be  composed  of  animal  matter,  with  traces  of 
saltpeter  and  unknown  minerals,  which  were  undoubtedly 
used  by  the  Incas  in  preserving  the  dead. 

It  is  a  popular  delusion  that  it  never  rains  on  the  west  coast 


1 


THE   NITRATE   DESERTS   OF  CHILE  357 

of  South  America,  but  the  atmosphere  is  frequently  saturated 
with  a  mist  that  penetrates  everything  and  moistens  the  soil 
so  as  to  cause  vegetation  to  grow  in  sands  that  seem  hopelessly 
barren.  In  1892  heavy  rains  fell  daily  on  the  Peruvian  coast 
for  three  months  and  caused  great  distress  among  the  people, 
who  were  not  prepared  for  it.  The  houses  are  not  built  for 
wet  weather.  The  roofs  of  the  dwellings  of  the  common 
people  are  thatched  with  reeds  and  palm  leaves,  which  afford 
no  protection  whatever  and  there  is  not  one  umbrella  to  each 
thousand  miles  of  territory. 

The  rains  were  the  result  of  unprecedented  phenomena. 
A  strong  north  wind  prevailed  all  winter  and  brought  the 
moisture  from  the  damp  regions  of  the  isthmus.  From  some 
cause  unknown  the  currents  of  the  ocean  became  reversed  also 
and  navigators  who  have  spent  their  lives  on  this  coast  were 
thrown  into  consternation.  The  Humboldt  current,  which 
brings  a  stream  of  cold  water  from  the  antarctic  circle  that 
freshens  the  dry  atmosphere  and  moderates  the  temperature 
of  the  tropics  as  the  gulf  stream  moderates  the  cold  of  the 
North  Atlantic,  seemed  to  disappear  for  several  months  and 
nature  indulged  in  the  strangest  freak  ever  known.  Finally 
the  regular  course  of  things  was  resumed,  but  the  cause  of  the 
phenomenon  has  never  been  explained. 

During  the  rains  the  desert  that  lies  between  the  Andes 
and  the  ocean  was  covered  with  vegetation.  Where  for  ages 
there  had  been  nothing  but  drifting  sand  appeared  meadows 
of  nutritious  grasses,  and  flowers  and  plants,  some  of  them 
unknown,  grew  in  great  abundance,  to  the  amazement  of  the 
people.  Unfortunately  there  are  few  botanists  in  this  part  of 
the  country,  so  that  science  derived  little  benefit  from  the 
phenomenon,  but  the  vegetables,  fruits  and  flowers  were 
greatly  enjoyed  by  the  people.  The  flower  that  came  in 
greatest  abundance  was  the  poppy.  Where  the  seeds  came 
from  nobody  knows,  but  the  deserts  were  fairly  ablaze  with 
them.  The  most  prolific  vegetables  were  melons.  The  vines 
sprung  up  out  of  the  sands  with  amazing  rapidity,  and  when 
the  rain  ceased  the  fruit  ripened  in  the  sun  and  possessed  a 
flavor  that  is  said  to  have  been  extraordinary. 


358   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

The  desert  narrows  as  you  go  southward,  the  coast  line 
becomes  more  rugged  and  bolder  and  the  mountains  come 
down  to  the  sea.  They  rise  like  a  great  wall,  2,000,  3,000, 
4,000  and  5,000  feet  abruptly  from  the  water.  Some  of  the 
peaks  reach  an  elevation  of  8,000  feet  and  they  are  all  barren, 
sandy  rocks  or  hard  baked  clay,  without  a  vestige  of  verdure 
or  a  living  thing.  There  is  an  occasional  break  in  the  chain, 
a  canyon  or  cuedebra,  as  they  call  it  here,  or  a  sloping  "pampa" 
that  rises  gradually  instead  of  abruptly  from  the  coast. 

At  many  of  these  places  ports  have  been  established  on  the 
beach  for  the  convenience  of  commerce,  and  railways  have 
been  built  to  bring  the  products  of  the  interior  to  market. 
There  are  a  few  good  harbors,  but  the  most  important  ports 
are  open  and  dangerous  roadsteds  where  the  surf  rolls  in  with 
mighty  force  at  all  times  and  often  is  so  violent  that  neither 
freight  nor  passengers  can  land.  It  is  an  extraordinary  fact 
and  a  commentary  upon  human  selfishness  that  near  by  these 
places  are  sheltered  coves  and  harbors  at  which  shipping 
might  be  economically  and  conveniently  accommodated,  but 
they  have  not  been  utilized  because  the  owners  Cf  the  sur- 
rounding property  and  riparian  rights  demanded  such  exorbi- 
tant prices,  or  some  real-estate  syndicate  was  interested  in 
another  site.  About  the  worst  place  on  the  entire  coast  is 
Antofagasta.  It  is  not  only  bad  but  dangerous,  and  yet  within 
a  few  miles  to  the  northward  is  one  of  the  best  and  safest 
harbors  on  the  coast,  the  bay  of  Mejillones,  which  was  not 
made  the  terminus  of  the  railway  to  the  interior  because  the 
people  who  owned  the  land  where  Antofagasta  now  stands 
had  a  "pull"  with  the  engineers. 

The  word  "pampa"  conveys  to  us  the  idea  of  a  grassy 
plain  covered  with  dandelions  and  daisies,  browsing  cattle, 
birds  and  butterflies.  That  is  what  they  call  a  pampa  in  the 
Argentine  Republic  and  Uraguay,  but  over  on  this  side  of 
the  continent  the  term  is  used  to  describe  a  high  plateau 
entirely  lifeless,  with  no  vegetation,  no  water,  nothing  but  a 
burning  sun  and  burning  sand,  and  a  heat  that  fills  the 
atmosphere  with  vibrations  and  mirages.  It  is  so  hot  that 
you  can  actually  see  the  heat  in  the  air.     Probably  the  term 


THE   NITRATE   DESERTS   OF   CHILE  359 

was  first  applied  as  a  joke,  but  it  stuck  to  the  object,  and  now 
all  these  awful  deserts  are  labeled  "pampas"  on  the  map.  But 
under  the  repulsive  surface  nature  has  stored  untold  mineral 
wealth. 

The  nitrate  ports  along  the  coast  look  like  western  mining 
towns  in  the  United  States — wide  streets  inclosed  by  long 
rows  of  rudely-built  one-story  houses  of  Oregon  lumber, 
usually  roofed  with  galvanized  iron.  Many  of  them  have  a 
piazza  on  top,  or  a  second  roof  to  break  the  force  of  the  sun, 
like  the  fly  of  a  tent.  They  are  equally  uncomfortable  and 
uncouth  and  the  men  who  live  in  them  have  come  here  to 
struggle  and  starve  and  die  in  pursuit  of  that  gilded  phantom 
we  call  wealth.  More  has  been  done  and  dared  for  gold  than 
for  glory  or  the  good  of  mankind,  and  the  battles  that  have 
been  fought  with  fortune  on  this  coast  have  cost  more  lives 
and  misery  than  any  war  against  sin  or  wrong  or  in  defense 
of  justice  and  truth  and  liberty.  A  few  have  left  this  dreadful 
region  millionaires,  more  with  a  modest  competence,  but  the 
great  majority  have  been  doomed  from  the  beginning  and 
have  fought  a  forlorn  and  useless  fight,  depriving  themselves 
of  comforts  and  enjoyments  and  cutting  themselves  off  from 
kindred  and  home.  Whatever  they  have  gained  has  cost 
many  times  as  much  labor  and  privation  as  the  same  measure 
of  reward  in  more  comfortable  climates.  Every  dollar  that 
has  ever  been  taken  out  of  the  nitrate  regions  by  any  one  has 
been  fully  earned. 

The  streets  are  dusty  and  the  air  is  full  of  sand.  It  gets 
into  your  hair  and  eyebrows,  into  your  ears  and  nostrils,  you 
taste  it  on  your  tongue  and  feel  its  irritation  in  your  throat 
and  lungs.  The  sun  is  fierce  and  unrelenting  and  its  rays, 
absorbed  and  reflected  by  the  vast  area  of  desert,  keep  the  air 
at  furnace  heat  night  and  day.  At  nightfall  a  purple  haze 
falls  over  the  city  like  a  curtain,  but  is  deprived  of  all  artistic 
association  when  you  find  that  it  is  nothing  but  dust  suspended 
in  the  atmosphere.  There  is  a  surprising  number  of  large 
shops,  filled  with  an  assortment  of  wares  that  ought  to  meet 
the  requirements  of  all  races  and  ages  and  tastes.  There 
seems  to  be,  however,  an  excessive  proportion  of  brandy  and 


36o   BETWEEN   THE  ANDES   AND   THE  OCEAN 

other  strong  drinks,  and  we  are  reminded  of  the  skipper  who' 
sent  the  sailor  ashore  for  supplies  and  when  the  latter 
appeared  with  one  loaf  of  bread  and  a  dozen  bottles  of  rum, 
the  captain  demanded,  in  an  uproarious  manner,  what  in 
thunder  he  expected  to  do  with  all  that  bread.  The  same 
inquiry  suggests  itself  to  my  mind  whenever  I  look  into  the 
window  of  a  grocery  shop  in  one  of  these  nitrate  towns. 

Next  in  abundance  is  canned  stuff — beef,  bacon  and  tongfue 
from  Chicago,  condensed  milk  from  Switzerland,  macaroni 
from  Italy,  sardines  from  Sardinia,  anchovies  from  Sicily, 
sausages  from  Germany,  asparagus,  petit  pois  and  wines  from 
France,  jellies  and  jams  from  England,  cheese  from  Holland, 
butter  from  Denmark,  codfish  from  Norway  and  Sweden,  oil 
and  olives  from  Spain,  tea  from  China  and  Japan,  coffee  from 
Brazil  and  Bolivia,  caviar  from  Russia — thus  the  whole  world 
panders  to  the  appetites  of  the  miners  working  in  the  nitrate 
desert,  and  they  are  willing  to  pay  big  prices  for  the  gfratifica- 
tion.  This  unnatural  climate  develops  unnatural  tastes.  A 
friend  tells  me  of  two  miners  who,  being  flush,  decided  to 
indulge  in  a  feast.  They  got  a  loaf  of  bread  and  two  jars  of 
pat^  de  fois  gras  for  their  dinner,  a  bottle  of  brandy  for  their 
beverage  and  two  cans  of  condensed  milk  which  they  ate  raw 
with  spoons  for  dessert.  This  extraordinary  banquet  cost 
them  $11  each  in  Chile  money. 

As  nothing  is  produced  but  metals  in  this  region,  every- 
thing to  eat  and  drink  and  wear  has  to  be  brought  from  more 
favorable  regions.  There  isn't  a  thing  but  sand  and  rock  and 
the  minerals  that  lie  under  it  for  hundreds  of  miles  from  this 
port.  Hence  there  is  a  very  large  commerce.  All  printed 
goods  and  plain  cottons  are  of  British  manufacture,  the  wool- 
ens and  other  wearing  apparel  come  from  Germany,  silks  and 
fancy  articles  from  France.  Iron  and  steel  in  infinite  forms 
come  chiefly  from  England,  sugar  from  Peru  and  Germany, 
candles  from  Holland,  rice  from  China  through  Hamburg  and 
Liverpool,  beef  and  flour  from  Chile,  the  better  quality  of 
knives,  forks  and  spoons  from  England,  the  cheaper  quality, 
which  are  more  largely  sold,  from  Germany,  the  bagging  used 
in  immense  quantities  for  shipping  the  nitrate  and  ores  from 


I 

I 


THE   NITRATE   DESERTS   OF   CHILE  361 

Great  Britain,  the  machinery  and  oils,  both  lubricating  and 
illuminating,  come  from  the  United  States,  the  railway  sup- 
plies from  Belgium  and  Germany.  It  is  a  notable  fact  that 
nearly  all  the  contracts  for  railway  construction,  bridges  and 
so  forth  have  gone  to  Belgians  or  Germans.  Drugs  and 
chemicals  are  mostly  imported  from  England,  boots  and  shoes 
from  France,  china,  crockery,  glassware  and  stationery  from 
Germany,  jewelry  from  Germany,  Switzerland  and  France. 
The  United  States  has  not  a  tithe  of  the  trade,  for  the  mercan- 
tile business  is  monopolized  by  Europeans,  who  naturally  buy 
their  goods  at  home.  The  heavy  importers  and  exporters  of 
nitrate  and  the  bankers  are  mostly  Englishmen.  Italians  keep 
the  groceries  and  drinking  shops,  while  the  Germans  are  in  all 
branches  of  trade  and  more  numerous  than  any  other  nation- 
ality. Occasionally  you  find  an  American  mine-owner  or 
dentist. 

The  population  is  cosmopolitan  and  represents  every  race 
on  earth.  In  some  of  the  towns  the  foreigners  outnumber 
the  natives. 

This  enormous  commerce  is  conducted  under  great  diffi- 
culties. There  are  no  harbors  and  no  docks,  but  a  tremen- 
dous surf  rolls  half  way  around  the  world  before  it  finally 
breaks  into  foam  upon  the  beaches  where  these  towns  lie. 
Captain  Marrow  of  the  steamer  Lautero  says  that  Australia  is 
their  only  breakwater.  The  steamships  anchor  a  mile  or  so 
out  in  deep  water  and  rock  with  an  easy  motion  as  the  heavy 
swells  pass  under  them.  The  passengers  are  lowered  from 
the  deck  into  lighters  by  a  steam  winch  in  chairs  that  are 
made  from  barrels,  or  scramble  down  a  ladder  and  drop  into  a 
boat  as  the  swell  lifts  it  within  reach.  They  are  taken 
through  the  surf  in  the  lighters  with  amazing  skill  by  native 
boatmen,  and  there  is  seldom  any  accident.  Captain  Harris 
of  the  steamer  Guatemala,  who  has  been  sailing  up  and  down 
this  coast  for  twenty-seven  years,  says  that  he  never  heard  of 
a  passenger  being  drowned  or  seriously  injured.  Sometimes 
a  boat  overturns  through  the  recklessness  of  the  oarsmen. 
They  may  perhaps  be  drunk  or  quarreling  among  themselves, 
and  now  and  then  you  hear  that  one  is  drowned,  but  some- 


362    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

how  or  another  they  get  their  passengers  though  all  right, 
although  the  latter  occasionally  are  treated  to  exciting  experi- 
ences. Not  long  ago,  at  Antofagasta,  a  tug  being  carelessly 
navigated  exposed  her  broadside  to  the  surf  and  was  over- 
turned instantly.  As  she  capsized  the  boiler  exploded  and  the 
hulk  was  blown  into  fragments.  All  the  five  men  who 
composed  her  crew  were  lost. 

The  skill  with  which  the  natives  handle  the  big  barges  is 
marvelous.  There  are  no  tugs  to  tow  the  lighters;  all  the 
work  is  done  by  hand.  Two  men  will  skull  a  barge  carrying 
sixty  or  seventy  tons  of  freight  over  the  rough  sea  from  ship 
to  shore  and  guide  it  through  the  surf  with  ordinary  oars 
without  losing  a  package  or  shipping  a  drop  of  water. 

At  Salavary,  a  Peruvian  port,  the  beach  is  so  shelving  that 
the  lighters  cannot  get  to  the  shore,  and,  after  grounding 
them,  their  passengers  are  lifted  on  the  shoulders  of  the 
boatmen  and  carried  "pig-a-back"  to  dryland;  or  they  can 
have  their  choice,  which  is  generally  exercised  by  ladies,  of 
climbing  on  to  a  chair  that  is  fastened  upon  a  sort  of  funeral 
bier  and  carried  by  four  men.  At  some  of  the  ports  there  are 
long  moles  extending  beyond  the  surf,  but  the  swell  is  so 
heavy  that  the  lighters  have  to  be  moored  to  buoys  at  a  con- 
siderable distance  to  prevent  them  from  being  jammed  to 
pieces  against  the  piles.  In  such  cases  passengers  and  freight 
are  hoisted  and  lowered  from  and  into  the  lighters  in  iron 
cages  by  a  steam  winch.  Cattle  and  horses  are  transferred 
from  the  deck  of  the  vessel  to  the  lighters  and  from  the 
lighters  to  the  dock  by  a  canvas  sling  which  is  passed  around 
their  bodies  and  attached  to  a  hoisting  chain.  Formerly  it 
was  the  custom  to  lift  cattle  by  a  noose  around  their  horns, 
and  this  cruel  practice  still  prevails  in  some  of  the  ports,  but 
in  Chile  it  is  not  permitted  nowadays.  Some  years  ago  the 
humane  society  procured  the  passage  of  a  law  by  congress 
prohibiting  it  under  a  heavy  penalty.  Sheep  are  landed  by 
means  of  a  canvas  chute  which  extends  from  the  deck  of  the 
vessel  into  the  lighter.  The  roustabouts  grab  the  animals  by 
the  legs,  toss  them  into  it  and  they  slide  down  in  an  instant. 
Freight  is  hoisted  from  the  hold  of  the  vessel  by  steam  winches 


THE   NITRATE   DESERTS   OF   CHILE  363 

in  large  nets  or  spreads  of  canvas  called  hammocks,  and  on 
shore  is  handled  in  a  similar  manner. 

There  are  plenty  of  shipping  facilities.  At  every  one  of 
the  nitrate  ports  are  long  rows  of  big  sailing  vessels  anchored 
in  line  like  men-or-war,  discharging  cargoes  of  merchandise, 
and  taking  in  cargoes  of  nitrate,  saltpeter,  copper,  silver, 
sulphur,  borax  and  various  other  ores.  They  bring  coal  from 
Cardiff  and  Australia  and  from  Mobile  and  Newport  News  to 
furnish  motive  power  for  the  "officinas,"  as  the  nitrate  works 
are  called,  and  the  railways  that  connect  them  with  the  coast. 
They  are  monstrous  fellows,  mostly  four  and  five  masters,  built 
of  steel  and  usually  carrying  the  English,  German  and  Nor- 
wegian flags.  Sometimes  you  see  the  stars  and  stripes  floating 
from  a  masthead.  It  is  a  rare  and  welcome  sight.  The  other 
day  at  Iquique  we  saw  what  was  said  to  be  the  largest  sailing 
vessel  in  the  world  but  one.  She  was  a  Frenchman,  painted 
gray,  with  black  squares  upon  her  sides  like  the  portholes  that 
used  to  appear  in  the  frigates  that  did  the  sea  fighting  a 
century  ago.  She  had  six  masts  and  spread  several  acres  of 
canvas  square  rigged.  She  was  fitted  thoughout  with  electric 
lights,  and  steering  gear,  and  her  hatches  were  supplied  with 
steam  hoisting  machinery  which  was  capable  of  discharging 
sixty  tons  of  freight  an  hour  from  each  one  of  them.  She  can 
carry  a  cargo  of  7,000  tons  of  wheat  or  coal  or  nitrate  or  any- 
thing else  that  can  be  packed  closely.  The  freight  charges 
upon  these  sailing  vessels  are  remarkably  low.  The  Norwe- 
gians particularly  will  bring  a  cargo  of  assorted  merchandise 
from  Hamburg  or  coal  from  Cardiff  around  the  Horn  for  five 
shillings  a  ton,  a  rate  less  than  a  Chicago  truckman  would 
charge  to  haul  it  from  a  railway  station  to  a  warehouse. 

There  are  several  lines  of  steamers  running  regularly  and 
no  end  of  tramps  looking  for  charters.  Two  lines  give 
monthly  sailings  between  the  nitrate  ports  and  New  York, 
one  under  the  management  of  W.  R.  Grace  &  Co.,  and  the 
other  under  Flint,  Eddy  &  Co. 

There  is  no  fresh  water  at  any  of  the  nitrate  towns.  The 
entire  supply  for  human  consumption  and  for  the  reduction 
works  must  be  brought  a  long  distance.     Formerly  a  fleet  of 


364   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

small  sailing  vessels  was  employed  to  bring  it  in  casks  from 
the  *'wet  ports"  up  and  down  the  coast,  and  in  times  of 
scarcity  it  has  sold  as  high  as  $2  a  gallon.  Frequently  the 
price  has  run  up  to  forty  and  fifty  cents,  but  the  average  rate 
in  the  old  days  was  about  ten  cents  a  gallon.  The  boats  would 
load  at  Arica  on  the  north  and  distribute  their  water  from  port 
to  port  until  they  reached  Coquimbo,  where  they  would  refill^ 
their  casks  and  sail  back. 

Then  condensers  were  introduced,  sea  water  was  pumped 
Tip  and  distilled.  This  was  an  expensive  process,  but  a  better 
quality  of  water  was  obtained  and  the  salt  that  was  extracted 
was  a  valuable  by-product.  All  the  salt  used  in  Chile  and 
Peru  is  dug  out  of  the  ground  like  coal.  There  are  several 
basins  along  the  coast  where  salt  lakes  have  formerly  been. 
The  water  has  evaporated  and  has  left  solid  masses  of  trans^ 
lucent  crystals,  which  are  cut  out  with  saws  and  sent  to  mar* 
ket  in  blocks  like  ice. 

Within  a  few  years,  as  the  nitrate  business  has  grown  in 
importance,  companies  have  been  formed  to  lay  pipe  lines 
from  the  mountains  to  several  ports  along  the  coast.  The  line 
which  supplies  Antofagasta  is  185  miles  long,  that  for  Iquique 
is  148,  that  for  Taltal  is  102  miles,  and  those  that  supply  other 
ports  are  of  similar  length.  These  conduits  are  made  of  ten 
and  twelve  inch  iron  pipe,  and  often  lie  upon  the  surface  of  the 
desert ;  at  no  place  are  they  buried  more  than  two  or  three 
feet  deep.  That  for  Antofagasta  follows  the  railroad  track, 
and  was  built  by  the  railway  company  to  supply  its  tanks  as 
well  as  the  city.  Some  of  these  pipe  lines  cost  millions  of  dol- 
lars, but  they  have  been  found  profitable  investments.  It  costs 
little  or  nothmg  to  keep  them  in  repair,  and  the  supply  of 
water  is  so  abundant  that  it  can  be  distributed  around  the  city 
in  underground  pipes  and  amon^  the  mines  and  ofiicinas,  as 
the  nitrate  reduction  works  are  called.  The  streets  are  piped, 
hydrants  are  provided  as  a  protection  against  fire,  the  dust  in 
the  business  streets  is  laid  by  sprinklers,  bathrooms  with  run- 
ning water  are  now  found  in  the  houses  and  fountains  in  the 
patios  of  the  rich,  but  these  are  expensive  luxuries.  Water 
used  to  be  sold  like  beer  and  wine  in  pint  and  quart  bottles, 


THE   NITRATE   DESERTS  OF  CHILE  365 

when  bathing  outside  of  the  sea  was  too  expensive  for  ordi- 
nary people  to  indulge  in,  but  it  is  now  sold  by  the  foot  and 
measured  by  meters. 

The  late  Colonel  North  of  London,  "the  nitrate  king,"  laid 
the  foundation  of  his  enormous  fortune  by  peddling  water  in 
the  streets  of  Iquique  and  Pisagua.  While  gossiping  one  day 
with  Mr.  Speedie,  one  of  North's  chums  in  early  days  and  one 
of  the  oldest  residents  on  this  coast,  I  learned  some  interesting 
facts  concerning  this  famous  Englishman. 

North  was  a  boilermaker  at  Leeds,  and  when  a  mere  boy 
was  brought  out  to  Chile  by  a  Captain  Petrie.  He  was  diligent 
at  his  trade  and  saving  with  his  money.  One  day  he  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  buying  an  old  hulk  that  lay  in  the  harbor 
and  going  into  the  water  business.  Petrie  advanced  him 
uoney.  He  repaired  the  vessel  with  his  own  hands,  divided 
^he  hold  into  tanks,  rigged  pumps  that  would  fill  and  empty 
them  rapidly,  and  when  his  novel  craft  was  afloat  she  drove 
the  sailboats  out  of  the  business  and  paid  for  herself  every 
month.  North  used  to  say  that  in  all  his  speculations  he  had 
never  known  or  heard  of  a  business  that  paid  a  bigger  profit. 
Mrs.  North  was  a  sort  of  general  manager  for  the  distribution 
business,  took  orders  for  water  and  collected  the  bills.  There 
is  a  story  that  she  used  to  peddle  water  in  a  donkey  cart  in  the 
streets  of  Iquique,  but  that  is  a  myth.  She  employed  agents 
who  drove  tank  carts  from  house  to  house  and  filled  buckets 
and  bottles  as  they  were  brought  out  to  them  in  the  same  way 
and  for  about  the  same  price  that  milk  is  sold  in  our  cities. 

North  had  a  good  head  for  business,  untiring  energy  and  a 
native  shrewdness  in  trading  which  Scotchmen  and  Yankees 
are  supposed  to  possess  in  a  high  degree  of  development.  He 
made  money  in  many  ways.  He  bought  and  sold  old  iron, 
picked  up  engines  and  machinery  that  had  been  discarded, 
repaired  them  and  sold  them  sometimes  to  their  original  own- 
ers. He  took  contracts  for  almost  everything  in  the  building 
line.  In  the  midst  of  this  career  there  was  a  terrific  fire  at 
Iquique  which  swept  away  two-thirds  of  the  town.  The  tele- 
graph line  was  destroyed,  and  all  means  of  communication 
were  cut  off,  but  North  had  two  tank  steamers  in  the  harbor. 


366    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

He  boarded  one,  and  one  of  his  clerks  boarded  the  other,  and] 
they  started  north  and  south,  stopping  at  every  town  en  route] 
and  buying  up  all  the  lumber,  hardware,  bricks,  carpenters'; 
tools  and  other  building  material  on  the  coast,  which  was 
shipped  to  Iquique  as  rapidly  as  possible  and  sold  at  enormous; 
prices. 

North  came  out  of  this  speculation  a  rich  man,  with  a  large 
cash  balance  in  the  bank,  and  began  to  invade  other  fields  of 
enterprise.  He  organized  companies  to  build  condensing 
works  for  a  water  supply  and  reduction  plants  for  nitrate.  At 
this  time  the  nitrate  district  belonged  to  Peru.  It  was  stolen 
by  Chile  during  the  war  of  1881.  The  demand  from  Europe 
was  rapidly  increasing  as  the  farmers  learned  of  its  value  as  a 
fertilizer,  and,  appreciating  the  possible  importance  of  the 
product,  President  Pardo  of  Peru,  declared  the  export  of 
nitrate  a  government  monopoly  and  endeavored  to  buy  up  all 
the  private  claims.  North  got  early  information  concerning 
this  intention,  secured  options  upon  as  many  mines  as  possible, 
and  sold  them  to  the  government  at  a  large  advance.  Pardo 's 
scheme  fell  through  owing  to  a  lack  of  funds  to  handle  it, 
whereupon  North  took  from  the  hands  of  the  government  all 
the  mines  that  had  been  purchased,  consolidated  them  under 
a  single  management,  and  became  "the  nitrate  king."  He 
formed  associations,  trusts  and  other  combinations,  secured 
exclusive  concessions  from  the  government,  and  at  the  time  of 
his  death,  a  few  years  ago,  lived  in  a  $2,000,000  palace  in  Lon- 
don and  controlled  the  trade. 

Chile  owns  practically  all  the  nitrate  of  soda  in  the  world. 
Small  quantities  are  found  elsewhere  and  have  been  used  for 
years  for  the  manufacture  of  gunpowder  and  other  chemicals. 
But  on  this  coast  only  are  deposits  of  sufficient  importance  to 
pay  the  expense  of  mining,  and  here  the  unlimited  supply  and 
the  enormous  output  is  beginning  to  make  the  business  unpro- 
fitable. If  all  the  ofiicinas  were  run  to  their  full  capacity  they 
would  make  double  the  amount  required  for  the  consumption 
of  the  world.  One  would  think  that  under  these  circumstances, 
with  all  the  mines  within  the  limit  of  a  few  days'  journey,  and 
the  general  tendency  to  consolidation,  that  a  combination 


THE   NITRATE   DESERTS  OF  CHILE  367 

would  have  been  formed  long-  ago  to  control  the  output  and 
regulate  prices ;  but  so  many  nationalities  are  represented  and 
so  great  are  the  jealousies  in  the  trade  that  it  has  been  impos- 
sible to  get  producers  to  combine,  and  owing  to  overproduc- 
tion the  price  has  gradually  fallen  from  $1.56  per  hundred 
weight  at  the  time  of  Colonel  North's  death  in  1894  to  $1.12 
per  hundred  weight,  and  is  still  going  off  every  year. 

Under  the  sand  of  this  desert,  which  drifts  before  the 
wind  like  snow,  nature  by  some  mysterious  process  has  laid  a 
bed  which  resembles  the  crust  that  often  forms  on  the  top  of 
snow  when  the  days  are  warm  and  the  nights  are  cold  in  win- 
ter. No  one  knows  how  it  was  formed,  and  while  its  extent  has 
not  been  measured  the  official  surveyors  declare  that  there  is 
enough  to  supply  the  whole  world  for  1,000  years.  The  sub- 
stance usually  analyzes  about  as  follows : 

Per  cent. 

Nitrate  of  soda o.  65 

Chloride  of  soda 23 

Iodine -06 

Sulphate 03 

Earth  and  sand 03 

Total 1. 00 

This  source  of  wealth — greater  than  any  nation  ever  before 
enjoyed — was  discovered  in  the  early  part  of  the  century,  but 
was  supposed  to  be  useless.  After  a  few  years  small  quan- 
tities were  shipped  to  Europe  for  chemical  purposes  and  the 
manufacture  of  gunpowder.  The  ammunition  used  by  the 
patriots  of  Peru  and  Chile  during  the  war  for  independence  in 
1824  was  made  from  nitrate  found  in  this  vicinity,  but  no  one 
dreamed  of  its  value  as  an  article  of  commerce  until  George 
Smith,  a  forlorn  Scotchman  who  was  living  on  his  wits  in  the 
village  of  Pica,  near  where  the  city  of  Iquique  now  stands,  dis- 
covered that  it  was  a  good  fertilizer.  Smith  was  fond  of  flow- 
ers and  fruit,  and  had  a  little  garden  which  he  cultivated  with 
great  care.  One  day  he  noticed  that  the  trees  and  plants  that 
were  banked  up  with  soil  that  contained  traces  of  this  myste- 
rious white  substance  flourished  more  than  the  others.  This 
led  to  experiments,  and  the  results  were  explained  to  John  T. 


368   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

Martin,  a  brother-in-law  of  Smith's,  who  had  come  out  on  a 
visit  from  Aberdeen.  Martin  was  in  the  canned  fruit  and 
vegetable  line,  and  when  he  went  home  took  a  few  bags  of  the 
white  stuff  for  the  farmers  from  whom  he  bought  his  stuff  to 
try  in  their  orchards.  Thus  was  the  first  nitrate  sent  to 
Europe  to  revive  the  worn-out  land.  Gibbs  &  Co. ,  a  business 
firm  in  Valparaiso,  were  the  first  to  go  into  the  business  of 
export  and  became  millionaires.  Smith  died  as  poor  as  he 
was  bom,  and  Martin  vanished  into  oblivion. 

It  was  soon  found,  however,  that  nitrate  in  the  raw  state 
contained  properties  that  were  injuiious  to  some  plants,  and 
reduction  works  were  established  to  extract  the  deleterious 
substances,  which  when  treated  chemically  were  found  much 
more  valuable  than  nitrate  itself. 

The  stuff  is  found  on  what  they  call  the  pampas — rolling 
deserts  of  sand  and  rock,  entirely  lifeless  and  elevated  from 
4,000  to  5,000  feet  above  the  sea.  The  sand  is  first  shoveled 
off  and  then  a  crust  of  clay  is  removed.  This  discloses  a  bed 
of  white  material  that  is  as  soft  as  cheese.  The  stratum  is 
often  four  or  five  feet  thick,  and  will  average  two  or  three  feet. 
It  is  broken  up  by  crowbars,  shoveled  into  cars  and  taken  to 
the  **officinas,"  where  it  is  crushed  to  powder.  It  is  then 
lifted  by  elevators  into  great  vats,  where  it  is  dissolved  in 
boiling  sea  water.  The  solution  is  run  off  into  shallow  iron 
vats,  which  when  exposed  to  the  dry  air  and  the  fierce  heat  of 
the  sun  rapidly  evaporates.  After  a  certain  period  of  exposure 
the  liquid  is  drawn  off  and  the  bottoms  and  sides  of  the  pans 
are  covered  with  white,  sparkling  crystals  like  alabaster.  This 
is  saltpeter,  and  it  is  shoveled  upon  drying  boards,  where  it  is 
exposed  to  the  sun  for  awhile,  then  graded  according  to  the 
quality  and  put  into  bags  weighing  a  quintal,  or  about  100 
pounds,  for  shipment.  The  highest  grade  goes  to  the  powder 
mills,  the  second  grade  to  the  chemical  woiks,  and  the  remain- 
der, the  great  bulk,  goes  to  fertilize  the  exhausted  soils  of 
Europe. 

The  yellow  liquor  that  is  drawn  off  is  more  valuable  than 
the  crystals  it  leaves  in  the  pans,  and  is  conducted  by  pipes  to 
a  crucible,  where  it  is  chemically  treated  and  then  poured  into 


THE   NITRATE   DESERTS  OF   CHILE  369 

smaller  pans,  where  it  is  allowed  to  cool  and  remain  for  a 
certain  length  of  time,  when  the  bottoms  of  these  pans  will  be 
found  coated  with  a  beautiful  blue  crystal,  which  is  the  iodine 
of  commerce  and  costs  as  much  per  ounce  as  the  saltpeter  per 
hundredweight.  The  iodine  is  packed  in  little  casks  and  cov- 
ered with  green  hides,  which  shrink  with  drying  until  they  are 
as  tight  as  a  drumhead  and  keep  out  the  moisture.  When 
these  casks  are  shipped  they  are  stored  in  the  treasure  vaults 
of  the  steamer  with  bullion  and  other  valuable  packages,  for 
a  single  cask  is  worth  $700  or  $800. 

The  shipments  of  nitrate  are  enormous,  and  in  1898  reached 
a  total  of  28,468,049  quintals,  or  packages  of  a  hundredweight 
each,  or  nearly  3,000,000,000  pounds,  value  $90,675,297.  This 
was  an  increase  of  4,427,270  quintals  or  hundredweight,  over 
1897.  In  1877  the  total  was  less  than  5,000,000,  and  for  sev- 
eral years  previous  it  averaged  about  2,000,000  a  year.  This 
year  (1899)  the  exports  will  reach  30,000,000  quintals. 

Great  Britain  takes  about  one-third  of  the  entire  product, 
or  10,000,000  quintals:  Germany,  one-fifth,  or  6,000,000;  the 
United  States  and  France  each  consume  about  2,500,000 
annually;  Holland,  Belgium  and  Italy,  about  1,250,000,  and 
the  remainder  is  divided  among  twenty  other  nations  which 
last  year  took  more  or  less. 

Iquique  has  the  largest  trade.  It  is  a  town  of  about  35,000 
inhabitants.  Its  most  prominent  citizen  is  an  American 
named  George  B.  Chase,  an  old  resident,  who  found  an  aban- 
doned copper  mine  and  has  worked  it  with  great  profit  until 
he  has  piled  up  several  millions  of  dollars.  Meantime  he  has 
been  fighting  a  perpetual  lawsuit  in  the  courts  with  the  Mac- 
kenna  family,  who  claim  the  ownership  of  the  property. 

The  shipments  of  saltpeter  from  Iquique  in  1899  were  val- 
ued at  $59,051,624,  and  those  of  iodine  at  $2,712,690.  Pisagua 
is  the  second  port,  and  its  shipments  last  year  were  valued  at 
about  $15,000,000. 

Antofagasta  resembles  Iquique,  but  owes  its  importance  to 
silver  and  copper  mining  instead  of  nitrate.  It  is  the  terminus 
of  a  railway  to  the  interior  of  Bolivia  which  brings  down 
enormous  quantities  of  ore  and  bullion,  particularly  from  the 


370    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE    OCEAN 

Huanchaca  mine  of  Bolivia,  which  is  said  to  be  the  most 
extensive  silver  mine  at  present  in  the  world.  It  belongs  to 
ex-President  Arce  of  Bolivia,  and  its  ore  is  so  rich  that  it  has 
been  able  to  compete  with  Mexico  and  the  United  States  even 
during  the  long  silver  depression. 

Owing  to  the  advance  in  the  value  of  copper,  a  great  deal 
of  attention  has  recently  been  directed  to  vast  deposits  of  that 
metal  which  are  known  to  exist  in  Chile,  and  particularly  along 
this  coast.  Abandoned  mines  have  been  reopened,  those 
which  were  flooded  have  been  pumped  out,  many  new  and 
important  prospects  have  been  discovered  and  taken  up  by 
both  foreign  and  native  capitalists,  and  there  has  been  a  rush 
to  buy  properties  in  which  both  foreign  and  local  syndicates 
have  joined.  Ore  that  will  pay  $300  a  ton  can  be  shipped  to 
Europe  with  great  profit.  Ore  that  pays  less  is  smelted  here 
and  converted  into  what  they  call  "regulus,"  which  is  unre- 
fined copper. 

The  great  trouble,  however,  is  the  lack  of  labor.  Thou- 
sands of  men  who  are  willing  to  handle  a  pick  and  shovel 
could  find  employment  in  the  mines  at  large  wages,  but  it  is  a;; 
terrible  life,  and  anybody  who  knows  anything  about  minings 
can  do  much  better  working  on  his  own  account  and  selling  hiS'^ 
ore  than  by  putting  his  name  upon  the  pay  roll  of  a  company. 

Behind  Antofagasta  are  several  active  volcanoes,  which 
constantly  emit  sulphurous  vapors  that  can  be  seen  at  a  great 
distance.  One  of  them,  Antofalla,  measures  19,500  feet,  and 
Lastarria  is  a  little  higher.  An  American  syndicate  is  working 
an  immense  deposit  of  pure  native  sulphur  in  the  forest  range 
of  the  Andes,  and  there  are  hot  springs  of  vile  brackish  water 
every  few  miles.  In  comparison  with  this  awful  desert  Sahara 
is  a  botanical  garden,  but  people  claim  that  Antofagasta  is 
very  healthy  if  you  don't  starve  to  death  or  die  of  thirst. 


\ 


y 


XXIII 
THE  CITY  OF  VALPARAISO 


Valparaiso  is  a  queer  sort  of  a  city,  and  lies  around  the  nar- 
row rim  of  a  bay  which  describes  a  semi-circle.  Behind  it  are 
nineteen  separate  hills  and  mountains,  from  300  to  1,100  feet 
in  height.  The  space  between  the  bay  and  the  foot  of  the 
mountains  is  very  narrow.  At  one  place  it  is  wide  enough  for 
only  two  streets.  At  other  places  the  gaps  between  the  hills 
enable  the  city  to  creep  back  a  considerable  distance,  but  no 
where  is  the  distance  between  the  base  of  the  mountains  and 
the  bay  more  than  half  a  mile.  The  length  of  the  city  is  some- 
thing over  four  miles  and  the  curve  is  almost  the  arc  of  a 
perfect  circle. 

The  bay  opens  to  the  north,  a  wide  area  without  any  pro- 
tection whatever,  and  when  "northers"  come  the  water  from 
the  ocean  is  blown  into  the  bay  and  the  surf  dashes  over  the 
Malecon,  as  the  sea  wall  and  esplanade  are  called.  There  are 
no  docks  or  wharves,  but  the  whole  frontage  of  the  bay  is  util- 
ized instead.  Steam  cranes  have  been  erected  at  different 
intervals,  which  lift  packages  of  freight  from  large  launches 
and  lighters  that  are  towed  to  and  from  the  ships  anchored 
a  mile  or  two  away.  It  is  an  awkward  and  expensive 
way  of  handling  commerce,  but  the  only  way  that  ordinary 
docks  could  be  protected  would  be  to  build  a  breakwater  across 
the  mouth  of  the  bay,  which  is  several  miles  in  width  and 
sixty  or  seventy  fathoms  deep.  There  are  several  projects  for 
such  an  improvement,  but  they  involve  so  great  a  cost  that  the 
people  are  frightened  whenever  they  are  talked  about. 

Although  "northers"  are  expected  every  now  and  then 
during  the  winter  season,  and  more  or  less  damage  is  always 
done,  there  were  never  so  many  or  so  fierce  storms  as  were 
experienced  in  August,  1899.     For  several  days  in  succession 

371 


372    BETWEEN   THE  ANDES  AND  THE   OCEAN 

huge  waves  rushed  over  the  sea  wall  and  dashed  against  the 
doors  of  the  houses  on  the  other  side  of  the  esplanade.  Their 
force  was  so  great  as  to  destroy  heavy  masonry  in  several 
places,  tear  up  the  pavement  of  Belgian  blocks,  carry  off  the 
railway  tracks  that  lay  in  the  middle  of  the  street,  with  loaded 
cars  that  stood  on  the  switches,  and  even  undermine  the  foun- 
dations of  the  houses  so  that  several  of  them  had  to  come 
down. 

At  the  same  time  the  heavy  rainfall  upon  the  nineteen  hills 
came  in  torrents  and  even  cascades  down  the  streets  and  alleys 
from  the  other  direction.  The  sewers,  which  are  usually  made 
of  ten  or  twelve  inch  pipes,  were  soon  filled  up  with  sand  and 
earth  and  forced  the  water  to  the  surface.  In  this  way  greater 
damage  was  done  than  by  the  sea.  Several  houses  were 
washed  out,  and  several  lives  were  lost,  while  the  narrow 
streets  of  the  city  were  filled  with  earth  and  water  to  a  depth 
of  five  or  six  feet,  which  did  not  subside  for  several  days,  dur- 
ing which  time  the  inhabitants  were  compelled  to  live  in  the 
upper  stories  of  their  houses  and  go  about  in  boats,  and  suffered 
serious  losses  by  the  destruction  of  their  furniture  and  house- 
hold goods  and  the  stock  of  merchandise  in  their  stores,  and 
by  the  injury  done  to  the  floors  and  walls  of  their  buildings. 
This  experience  was  repeated  several  times  during  the  winter 
after  the  first  flood  had  filled  the  sewers  with  sand. 

The  great  artery  of  commerce,  Victoria  Street,  follows  the 
coast  line  for  the  entire  length  of  the  city,  and  is  fronted  by 
the  banks  and  hotels,  the  retail  shops,  the  government  build- 
ings and  many  fine  private  residences.  The  business  portion 
of  Valparaiso  shows  some  good  architecture,  more  elaborate 
and  expensive  than  can  be  seen  anywhere  on  the  Pacific  coast 
south  of  San  Francisco.  The  shops  and  stores  are  large,  and 
contain  as  complete  an  assortment  of  goods  as  can  be  found  in 
any  city  of  the  world.  There  is  no  place  in  the  United  States 
of  a  similar  population  with  such  a  display  of  costly  and  lux- 
"urious  articles.  The  people  are  wealthy  and  prosperous,  the 
foreign  element  is  large  and  accustomed  to  the  best  things 
that  money  can  buy,  and  Valparaiso  has  always  been  famous 
for  the  extravagance  of  its  citizens.     Some  of  the  private  resi- 


THE   CITY  OF  VALPARAISO  373 

dences  are  palatial  in  their  proportions ;  there  are  clubs  as  fine 
as  the  average  in  Europe  or  America,  lovely  parks,  public 
reading  rooms,  libraries,  picture  galleries  and  all  the  elements 
that  go  to  make  up  modern  civilization.  The  opera  house, 
which  is  owned  by  the  municipality,  surpasses  in  size  and 
beauty  any  that  can  be  found  in  the  United  States  outside  of 
Chicago  and  New  York,  and  for  thirty  nights  each  winter  Ital- 
ian grand  opera  is  presented  by  the  same  company  that 
occupies  the  opera  house  at  Milan,  Italy,  during  the  winter 
months  of  the  year.  The  city  gives  a  subsidy  of  $40,000  as 
an  inducement  to  the  manager  to  bring  his  singers  and  orches- 
tra, and  no  rent  is  charged  for  the  building. 

There  are  several  fine  monuments,  and  one  of  them  was 
erected  in  honor  of  William  Wheelwright,  an  American,  who 
established  steam  communication  on  this  coast  and  built  the 
first  railway  in  South  America.  There  is  a  statue  of  Colum- 
bus and  another  of  Admiral  Cochrane,  the  Englishman  who 
commanded  the  revolutionary  fleet  in  the  war  for  independ- 
ence ;  but  the  most  imposing  monument  and  one  of  the  finest 
in  America  was  recently  erected  in  honor  of  Arturo  Prat,  one 
of  the  heroes  of  the  war  with  Peru.  There  is  also  a  monument 
in  honor  of  three  young  men  of  Valparaiso,  members  of  a  vol- 
unteer fire  company,  who  lost  their  lives  in  trying  to  rescue 
some  women  from  a  burning  building  some  years  ago.  The 
city  is  strongly  fortified  and  the  most  conspicuous  building 
upon  the  hills  around  it  is  a  naval  academy,  where  200  or  300 
young  men  are  studying  the  arts  of  war  and  navigation. 

Valparaiso  is  a  cosmopolitan  city,  and  the  foreign  popula- 
tion is  nearly  equal  to  the  number  of  the  natives.  The  Ger- 
mans are  most  numerous,  and,  as  in  other  cities  on  this  coast, 
have  the  largest  share  of  the  retail  trade.  The  Italians, 
Spaniards,  French  and  English  come  next  in  order,  with  a  few 
citizens  of  the  United  States.  Very  few  cities  of  the  same 
population  can  compare  with  Vaparaiso  in  the  volume  of  busi- 
ness transacted  and  the  amount  of  its  foreign  commerce.  Dur- 
\ing  1898,  914  steamships  entered  this  port  to  discharge  cargo, 
an  average  of  seventy-six  a  month,  and  194  sailing  vessels. 

The  climate  is  delightful.    The  temperature  seldom  exceeds 


374   BETWEEN   THE  ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

80  degrees  in  midsummer,  and  never  drops  to  the  freezing 
point.  There  are  occasional  earthquakes,  and  during  1896 
there  were  thirty-five  shocks  of  considerable  violence,  which 
did  some  damage,  but  no  lives  have  been  lost  from  that  cause 
for  more  than  a  century. 

An  evening  view  of  Valparaiso  from  a  steamer  in  the  bay 
is  quite  startling,  as  the  terraces  of  light,  one  above  the  other, 
to  the  height  of  400  or  500  feet,  give  the  appearance  of  a  city 
turned  up  on  end.  Electric  lamps  are  abundant,  and  large 
arc  lights  are  placed  at  frequent  intervals  upon  the  crests  of 
the  cliffs  with  reflectors  that  throw  their  rays  over  into  the 
streets  and  upon  the  terraces  with  the  effect  of  moonlight. 
Standing  upon  the  balconies  that  project  from  the  residences 
on  the  hillsides  the  scene  in  the  bay  at  night  and  the  brilliant 
illumination  of  the  semicircular  city  chat  surrounds  it  is  as 
brilliant  as  fairyland. 

Valparaiso  is  the  second  city  of  Chile  and  next  to  San  Fran- 
cisco the  most  important  port  on  the  Pacific  coast  of  America. 
The  name  means  "vale  of  paradise,"  and  is  so  incongruous  in 
several  respects  as  to  provoke  sarcasm,  but  the  true  origin  was 
as  follows:  In  1536  a  Spanish  captain  named  Saavadra  was 
sent  by  Diego  de  Almagro,  Pizarro's  partner,  to  take  posses- 
sion of  an  Indian  village  called  Quintal,  which  stood  here  at 
that  time,  and  his  loyalty  to  his  native  place,  Valparaiso,  a 
town  of  Castile,  prompted  him  to  christen  the  city  he  founded 
in  its  honor. 

Nature  never  intended  that  a  city  of  125,000  inhabitants 
should  be  located  here.  The  inhabitants  have  shown  a  good 
deal  of  ingenuity  and  patience  in  overcoming  the  natural  diffi- 
culties, and  have  covered  the  almost  perpendicular  and  rocky 
escarpments  that  surround  the  bay  with  houses.  Indeed,  the 
most  agreeable  and  fashionable  residence  quarter  is  on  the 
cliffs,  which  are  reached  by  winding  roads  and  lifts  such  as  one 
sees  in  Cincinnati  and  Pittsburg.  On  the  edges  of  the  cliffs 
the  poorer  classes  have  built  rude  dwellings  of  old  timber  and 
all  sorts  of  debris,  patched  up  with  sheets  of  corrugated  iron, 
and  some  of  them,  perched  upon  almost  inaccessible  rocks  and 
propped  up  with  ungainly  wooden  supports,  present  an  appear- 


THE   CITY  OF  VALPARAISO  375 

ance  of  peril  and  inconvenience.  During  the  storms  several 
were  washed  away,  although  they  did  not  suffer  so  much  as 
one  would  expect. 

William  Wheelwright,  of  Camden,  N.  J.,  built  the  first  rail- 
way in  South  America,  from  Caldera  to  Copiapo,  in  1849. 
Allan  Campbell,  who  recently  died  in  New  York,  was  his  chief 
engineer.  In  1846  they  surveyed  a  line  between  Valparaiso 
and  Santiago,  and  it  was  partially  built  and  in  operation  under 
the  management  of  Samuel  Warde  Greene,  of  Rhode  Island, 
in  1855.  Henry  Meigs,  the  California  fugitive,  completed  it 
in  1863,  and  gave  the  Chileans  a  conspicuous  illustration  of 
American  enterprise.  The  government  made  a  contract  with 
him  under  which  it  was  stipulated  that  the  road  should  be 
ready  for  traffic  in  three  years.  He  was  to  receive  a  bonus  of 
$10,000  a  month  for  all  the  time  anticipated,  and  pay  a  forfeit 
of  the  same  amount  for  every  month's  delay.  He  finished  the 
job  in  two  years  and  had  10,000  men  at  work  under  sixty-two 
American  engineers  and  contractors. 

Among  them  was  John  L.  Thorndike,  who  left  a  position  on 
the  Detroit  &  Milwaukee  Railroad  to  go  with  Meigs  to  Peru. 
He  built  the  railway  to  Bolivia,  which  he  managed  for  many 
years,  until  it  was  turned  over  to  the  Peruvian  corporation, 
which  now  controls  all  the  railroads  in  that  republic.  Mr. 
Thorndike  is  still  living  in  Lima,  the  most  prominent  member 
of  the  American  colony,  enjoying  a  well-earned  fortune  and 
reputation.  He  was  the  successor  of  Henry  Meigs  in  Peru- 
vian enterprises.  Mr.  Edward  C.  Du  Bois,  who  is  also  living 
in  Lima  and  occupies  the  old  Meigs  mansion,  which  is  the 
finest  in  the  country,  was  also  engaged  upon  the  Valparaiso  & 
Santiago  Railroad  for  several  years,  and  one  of  his  associates 
was  Thomas  Braniff ,  who  afterward  went  to  Mexico  and  built 
railways  and  engaged  in  other  enterprises  there.  He  has  the 
reputation  of  being  the  richest  man  in  that  republic.  Charles 
F.  Hillman,  who  is  still  living  in  Santiago;  Charles  Green, 
his  brother-in-law,  who  is  United  States  consul  at  Antofa- 
gasta,  were  also  members  of  the  party.  Hillman  built  the 
street-car  system  of  Santiago,  and  carried  out  other  important 
enterprises. 


376    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 


Among  other  Americans  who  introduced  modern  improve- 
ments into  Chile  were  "Big  Ben"  Bates  and  Ben  Carman,  wha 
was  familiarly  known  as  *'the  sunny  boy,"  because  of  his  dis- 
position; **Dad"  Pierce,  from  the  State  of  Maine,  and  his 
three  sons,  Peleg,  Waldo  and  Charles,  who  were  contractors; 
Henry  Meigs  Keith,  of  Brooklyn,  a  nephew  of  Meigs; 
James  B.  Cilley,  of  New  Hampshire,  who  assisted  Meigs  ini 
the  construction  of  Oroya  road  in  Peru,  and  was  for  many! 
years  its  manager,  until  his  death;  George  B.  Maynadier, 
of  Maryland;  Walter  W.  Evans;  John  R.  Bernard,  who 
committed  suicide  while  afflicted  with  softening  of  the, 
brain;  Charles  Downes,  who  served  for  forty  years  on  the 
government  railways  here,  and  is  now  retired  on  a  pension;. 
Charles  Hill,  who  is  said  to  be  living  on  Long  Island, 
and  John  R.  Gillis,  a  son  of  a  commodore  in  our  navy, 
who  returned  to  the  States  and  built  railways  in  the  Rocky 
Mountains. 

Mr.  Wheelwright  went  to  the  Argentine  Republic  as  an 
apostle  of  enterprise,  and  built  railways  there,  and  founded 
the  Pacific  Steam  Navigation  Company,  which  built  up  the; 
commerce  of  England  along  the  coast  and  is  to  extend  its^ 
service  to  San  Francisco. 

There  will  be  a  considerable  increase  of  trade,  I  hope,  when' 
direct  steam  communication  is  established,  but  it  will  be  nec-| 
essary  for  American  merchants  to  come  down  here,  establish; 
agencies  and  introduce  their  goods  in  order  to  secure  a  share 
of  the  trade,  because  the  commercial  habits  of  the  country  are 
firmly  fixed,  and  it  will  be  impossible  to  divert  them  without; 
a  strong  and  patient  effort.  There  is  no  reason  why  nearly  i 
all  the  foreign  merchandise  needed  in  Chile  cannot  be  sent  on; 
a  through  bill  of  lading  from  Chicago  to  Valparaiso  and  other  i 
ports  on  this  coast  by  way  of  Los  Angeles,  San  Diego  or  San| 
Francisco.  The  distance  is  shorter  than  to  Liverpool  or  Ham- 
burg, and  the  steamship  companies  will  certainly  made  as  good 
rates  as  to  those  ports. 

The  United  States  has  never  had  a  large  trade  in  Chile. 
Our  imports  from  that  country  consist  mostly  of  nitrate  of 
soda  and  other  minerals,  hides  and  wool,  and  average  $3,750,- 


THE   CITY   OF   VALPARAISO  377 

000  a  year.  In  1896  the  total  was  $1,000,000  more.  In  1891 
the  total  was  $3,448,290;  in  1898  is  was  $3,736,307- 

Our  exports  to  Chile  have  varied  from  $2,000,000  to  $3,000,- 
000  a  year,  and  have  nearly  all  been  carried  as  ballast  by  sail- 
ing vessels  which  go  down  for  nitrate  or  by  the  steamers  that 
are  sent  monthly  by  Grace  &  Co.,  of  New  York,  with  their 
own  stock.  In  1888  the  total  was  $3,145,000.  In  1898  it  had 
fallen  to  $2,351,727. 

In  order  to  give  you  an  idea  of  the  class  of  goods  which  we 
are  sending  to  Chile,  I  find  in  the  statistics  of  her  imports  from 
the  United  States  that  the  largest  item  is  cotton  fabrics, 
amounting  to  $1,171,484,  or  nearly  half  of  the  whole.  The 
other  chief  items  were : 

Breadstuffs $341,976 

Oils 178,086 

Manufactures  of  wood 122,498 

Agricultural  machinery 79>6o8 

Preserved  fish     .          5°A^3 

Clocks  and  watches 46,598 

Drugs  and  patent  medicines    ....  82,339 

Cordage  and  twine 34,886 

Naval  stores 43,638 

Paper 36,154 

Provisions 45^5^7 

Plated  ware ii>3iS 

Soap  and  soap  stocks 32,859 

Telephone  and  telegraph  supplies     .     .  25,054 

Iron  and  steel 43-979 

Nails  and  tacks 44-^59 

Pipes  and  fittings 22,149 

Cutlery  and  saws .  7,869 

Firearms 18,452 

Builders'  hardware 28,775 

Scales  and  balances 13,301 

Tools 18,683 

Stoves,  langes,  etc 9,343 

Electrical  machinery 16,298 

Metal-woi  king  machinery 8,627 

Pi  inting  presses 2,178 

Pumps  and  pumping  machinery   .     .     .  2,834 

Sewing  machines 7,663 

Shoe  machinery i,95o 


378   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

Locomotive  parts 8,033 

Boilers  and  engines 17,665 

Typewriters 6,735 

All  other  machinery 52,088 

Lamps .     .     .     .     c 3,927 

Type 7,619 

Leather  goods 7, 709 

Paints 2,363 

Perfumery 6,947 

Photographic  materials 6,141 

Stationery 10,722 

Tobacco 5,832 

Dental  supplies 6,753 

Varnish 2,523 

Shoe  blacking 2,356 

Books 14,043 

Bicycles 14,206 

Carriages 10,044 

The  people  of  Chile  are  large  buyers  and   consume  an 
immense  amount  of  imported  goods,  on  an  average  of  about 
$70,000,000  a  year  in  gold.     In  1898  the  total  imports  were 
$168,069,431  in  the  local  currency,  which  was  worth  about  40 
or  42  cents  in  gold.     The  imports  consisted  chiefly  of  wearing^ 
apparel  and  household  goods,  machinery  and  the  luxuries  of 
life.     The  largest  items  were  refined  petroleum,  $2,029,622; 
wire,  $782,577;  live  stock,  $4,349,934;  rice;  $1,048,214;  drugs,! 
$1,348,459;    flannel  goods,   $1,449,220;    other  woolen  goodsJ 
$1,556,635;    white   cotton    goods,    $2,485,088;    cotton   prints,] 
$2,195,335;   cotton  sacking,  $760,146;    other  kinds  of  cottoi 
goods,  $3,789,675;  agricultural  machinery,  $1,220,771;   othei 
machinery,    $1,484,440;    bags    for  nitrate,    $2,966,419;    teaj 
$1,347,106;  candles,  $1,457,808. 

The  largest  share  of  the  trade  goes  to  England.  The  total 
amount  of  imports  from  that  country  from  1844  to  1898  reached 
$775,767,011,  while  that  from  Germany  during  the  same  period 
reached  only  $325,316,965;  but  the  Germans  are  creeping  up 
very  rapidly  upon  Great  Britain,  which  is  due  to  cheap  freights 
and  the  establishment  of  German  mercantile  houses  in  this 
country.  The  United  States  stands  fourth  in  the  list  of 
imports,  the  total  for  fifty-four  years  being  $139,080,599. 


THE   CITY   OF  VALPARAISO  379 

The  exports  of  Chile  in  1898  amounted  to  $168,069,431,  of 
which  75  per  cent  were  the  products  of  her  mines,  nitrates, 
copper  and  silver ;  8  per  cent  products  of  agriculture  and  4  per 
cent  of  live  stock.  Great  Britain  took  the  bulk  of  her  exports, 
a  total  of  $111,324,574;  Germany  came  second  with  $2 4,5 83,- 
031;  France,  $11,314,685. 

Chile  is  passing  through  a  financial  depression.  It  is  the 
old  story  of  governmental  and  individual  extravagance,  spec- 
ulation and  bad  management.  Both  the  government  and  the 
people  have  been  living  beyond  their  incomes  and  have  bor- 
rowed money  to  meet  the  deficit ;  then,  as  the  time  approached 
for  a  settlement,  they  attempted  to  postpone  the  crisis,  and, 
after  securing  a  temporary  grace,  demanded  the  right  to  pay 
their  debts  in  a  currency  less  valuable  than  that  they  had 
borrowed.  The  situation,  so  far  as  the  parties  to  the  contro- 
versy are  concerned,  is  the  exact  reverse  of  that  which  we 
experienced  in  the  United  States.  The  rich  people  want 
paper  money.  The  poor  people  demand  gold.  The  capital- 
ists, the  big  planters,  the  manufacturers,  the  miners  and  the 
bankers  are  calling  for  an  increase  in  the  paper  currency  on 
the  ground  that  the  volume  now  outstanding  is  not  sufficient 
for  the  commercial  requirements  of  the  country.  This  may 
be  true,  but  it  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  abundance  of  paper 
has  driven  the  gold  and  silver  out  of  circulation  and  caused 
those  who  are  so  fortunate  as  to  possess  coin  to  hide  it  in  stock- 
ings and  old  teapots,  or  put  it  in  their  tin  boxes  in  the  safe- 
deposit  vaults.  The  last  of  $65,000,000  in  gold  coin  disap- 
peared from  circulation  within  twenty-four  hours  after  a 
law  for  the  issue  of  $50,000,00  of  paper  notes  had  been  signed, 
and  for  a  few  days  there  was  no  money  in  the  country.  Street 
car  tickets,  postage  stamps,  memoranda  written  in  pencil  on 
the  backs  of  cards  and  old  envelopes,  "I.  O.  U.s"  in  every 
conceivable  form,  were  passed  around  in  lieu  of  currency  until 
the  minister  of  finance  relieved  the  situation  by  disbursing  a 

j  lot  of  printed  notes  that  had  been  obsolete  for  years,  but  were 
lying  in  one  of  the  vaults  of  the  treasury,  covered  with  dust. 
This  was  surcharged  with  a  rubber  stamp  and  used  tempera- 

I  rily,  until  the  printing  office  could  supply  the  notes  authorized 


38o   BETWEEN  THE  ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

by  the  new  law.  Some  of  it  is  still  in  circulation.  By  the 
railways,  which  are  owned  by  the  government,  credit  was 
extended  to  those  who  were  known  to  the  ticket  sellers  and 
freight  agents.  This  was  absolutely  necessary,  because  there 
was  no  coin  or  other  currency  with  which  the  people  could  pay. 
The  paper  money  in  circulation  was  worth  about  30  cents 
on  the  dollar — you  could  get  $3.30  for  a  United  States  green- 
back, $16  for  a  pound  sterling — and  the  debtor  class  wanted  to 
settle  their  obligations  in  that  instead  of  the  gold  coin  that 
they  borrowed  some  years  ago.  The  creditor  class  protested, 
and  was  supported  by  the  laboring  population,  who  resisted  s 
every  measure  that  tended  to  lessen  the  value  of  their  earn- 
ings, because  the  cost  of  living  has  remained  the  same,  while 
the  purchasing  power  of  their  wages  has  been  reduced  in  a 
considerable  degree.  The  following  comparison  will  show  the 
change  which  took  place  in  the  incomes  of  wage-earners  of 
this  country  within  thirty  days  after  the  issue  of  paper  money 
as  above  described,  and  the  difference  is  much  greater  to-day : 

Value  in  Gold  

June  I,  '98       July  i,  '98. 

Wages  of  ordinary  laborers    .     .     .  $0.50  $0.34 

Masons 67  .47 

Carpenters 1.33  .93 

Gasfitters 1.33  .93 

Painters        i.oo  .70 

Engineers 1.50  i.oo 

Firemen 75  .50 

There  has  been  a  corresponding  reduction  in  the  purchasing 
power  of  the  incomes  of  the  entire  population. 

The  recent  financial  history  of  Chile  contains  many  events 
of  interest.  In  1895  the  congress  passed  an  act  providing  for 
the  resumption  of  specie  payments  and  the  establishment  of  a 
gold  standard  of  value.  At  that  time  the  circulation  outstand- 
ing consisted  of  $18,000,000  in  government  notes,  $5,000,000 
in  silver,  and  $20,000,000  in  bank  notes.  The  law  provided 
that  the  government  should  redeem  both  its  own  and  the  notes 
of  the  banks  in  gold  coin,  dollar  for  dollar,  upon  presentation, 
and  it  was  provided  also  that  the  banks  should  redeem  their 
own  notes  from  the  government  in  monthly  installments.     If 


THE   CITY   OF  VALPARAISO  381 

for  any  reason  they  failed  to  do  so  they  were  to  pay  interest 
at  the  rate  of  6  per  cent  per  annum  upon  all  deferred  redemp- 
tions. To  secure  sufficient  gold  to  carry  out  this  law  a  loan  of 
$10,000,000  was  secured  in  London  and  the  proceeds  of  the 
sales  of  nitrate  deposits  were  also  set  aside  for  that  purpose. 

The  first  effect  of  this  law  was  to  confirm  public  confidence 
and  increase  the  value  of  the  paper  money,  but  the  banks  took 
advantage  of  the  indulgence  allowed  them  by  the  law  to  impose 
upon  the  government  and  were  allowed  to  do  so  because  of  the 
amiability  of  the  financial  authorities.  They  would  send  their 
own  notes  to  the  treasury  for  redemption  and  receive  gold  for 
them.  The  notes  would  be  destroyed  and  the  transaction 
would  stand  simply  as  a  loan  of  gold  by  the  government  to  the 
banks  at  6  per  cent  interest,  running  an  indefinite  time  at  the 
discretion  of  the  minister  of  finance.  In  the  meantime  the 
banks  would  loan  the  gold  to  their  customers  at  a  higher  rate 
of  interest,  often  10  and  12  per  cent,  and  thus  make  a  hand- 
some profit  which  they  were  loath  to  lose.  This  continued 
until  the  government  treasury  had  been  drained  of  gold  and 
had  nothing  to  show  for  it  except  the  accounts  of  the  banks. 
The  natural  influence  of  such  a  lax  financial  policy  on  the  part 
of  the  government  was  to  demoralize  private  transactions,  but 
more  serious  was  the  effect  upon  the  Bank  of  Chile,  which  is 
a  government  institution,  like  the  Bank  of  England,  and 
which,  being  drained  of  its  coin,  was  allowed  to  continue  its 
existence  upon  the  national  credit.  When  the  banks  were 
called  upon  to  make  good  the  gold  that  was  advanced  for  the 
redemption  of  their  notes  they  could  not  refund  because  their 
customers  were  unable  to  repay  their  loans. 

At  the  very  height  of  this  folly  came  a  war  scare.  The 
controversy  between  Chile  and  the  Argentine  Republic  over 
the  boundary  line  grew  so  acute  that  both  governments, 
although  bound  to  submit  the  question  to  arbitration,  began  to 
make  active  preparations  for  hostilities  upon  a  scale  entirely 
out  of  proportion  to  their  wealth,  population  and  resources. 
Chile  expended  something  like  $20,000,000  in  gold  in  the  pur- 
chase of  military  and  naval  supplies  in  Europe,  and,  although 
the  government  had  borrowed  $10,000,000  in   England    to 


382    BETWEEN  THE   ANDES  AND  THE   OCEAN 

redeem  its  paper  currency,  for  every  gold  dollar  brought  into 
the  country  under  that  loan  two  gold  dollars  were  sent  back  to 
pay  for  ships,  arms,  ammunition  and  other  supplies.  Chile 
ranks  twenty-third  among  the  civilized  nations  of  the  world  in 
population,  but  within  three  years  she  brought  up  her  navy  to 
the  eighth  place,  and  her  army  in  numerical  strength  and 
equipment  was  made  equal  to  that  of  the  United  States  before 
the  war  with  Spain. 

After  the  enactment  of  the  resumption  law  $67,000,000  in 
gold  was  coined,  and  on  the  first  of  June,  1898,  it  is  estimated 
that  $45,000,000  was  in  active  circulation  in  that  country,  but 
when  the  crisis  came,  on  June  18,  1898,  and  congress  was 
informed  that  there  was  an  available  cash  balance  of  only 
$30,000  in  the  Bank  of  Chile,  the  public  became  frightened, 
there  was  a  general  panic  and  a  run  on  all  the  banks  which 
would  have  exhausted  their  deposits  immediately  had  not  the 
government  granted  permission  to  all  the  banks  in  the  country 
to  close  their  doors  for  five  days.  During  this  interval  con- 
gress passed  an  act  called  the  moratoria,  or  * 'license  of  debt- 
ors, ' '  the  effect  of  which  was  the  suspension  of  all  payments 
and  actions  at  law  for  debt  for  thirty  days,  without  prejudice 
to  the  debtor.  After  the  passage  of  this  act  the  banks  resumed 
business,  but  exercised  a  discretion  in  cashing  such  checks  and 
in  paying  their  depositors  only  such  sums  as  in  the  judgment 
of  the  bankers  would  relieve  actual  necessities.  The  imme- 
diate effect  of  this  extraordinary  policy  was  to  close  all  manu- 
facturing establishments  and  suspend  the  pay  rolls  of  all  large 
employers.  Almost  the  entire  working  population  of  the 
country  found  themselves  thrown  out  of  employment  and  their 
incomes  stopped  without  any  immediate  prospects  of  relief. 

The  mechanics,  the  small  tradesmen  and  the  wage-earners 
of  Santiago  held  public  meetings,  and  at  the  capital  an  army 
of  6,000  workingmen  marched  to  the  palace  of  the  president 
and  submitted  a  petition  demanding  an  early  solution  of  the 
crisis,  "as  by  next  week  the  whole  working  population  of  the 
country  will  be  without  food.  * '  The  president  replied  that  he 
regretted  their  situation,  and  sympathized  with  their  condition, 
but  was  unable  to  relieve  it,  and  advised  them  to  apply  to  con- 


i 


THE   CITY  OF  VALPARAISO  383 


gress.  Acting  upon  this  suggestion,  the  immense  throng  sur- 
rounded the  house  of  congress  and  through  a  committee 
demanded  the  immediate  enactment  of  legislation  necessary  to 
relieve  the  situation. 

In  fear  of  violence  congress  passed  a  bill  authorizing  the 
issue  of  $50,000,000  in  paper  money,  which  gave  temporary 
relief,  but  the  immediate  result  was,  as  I  have  stated,  the 
absolute  disappearance  of  every  gold  and  silver  coin  in  circula- 
tion. Thus,  instead  of  increasing  the  currency,  there  was  an 
actual  contraction.  Not  less  than  $45,000,000  of  coin  was 
withdrawn  by  those  who  were  so  fortunate  as  to  hold  it,  and 
$50,000,000  of  paper,  having  an  actual  value  of  only  about 
$35,000,000,  was  substituted,  and  it  has  since  depreciated  still 
more. 


XXIV 
SANTIAGO,  THE  CAPITAL  OF  CHILE 

It  is  a  journey  of  five  hours  from  Valparaiso  to  Santiago 
over  a  railway  built  by  American  engineers  and  contractors 
about  fifty  years  ago,  which  now  belongs  to  the  government 
and  is  operated  at  a  loss  for  political  reasons.  Those  who 
believe  in  government  ownership  of  railways  may  find  an 
instructive  object  lesson  in  Chile.  Wages  are  higher  and  the 
number  of  employes  for  the  same  service  is  much  larger  upon 
the  government  roads  than  upon  private  roads  of  the  same 
mileage.  The  discipline  is  less  severe,  accidents  are  more 
frequent,  and  the  cost  of  maintenance  is  considerably  larger. 
The  employes  upon  government  roads  work  a  limited  number 
of  hours,  and  are  given  greater  privileges.  They  obtain  and 
retain  their  positions  more  through  political  pull  than  effi- 
ciency. On  the  other  hand,  a  large  number  of  people  who 
could  not  possibly  secure  employment  from  private  corpora- 
tions find  it  easy  to  get  good  places  and  good  wages  from  the 
government,  and  the  general  welfare  is  promoted  at  the  same 
time  by  low  rates  of  transportation. 

I  do  not  know  any  country  where  the  luxuries  of  railway 
travel  are  so  cheap  as  in  Chile.  You  can  ride  125  miles  from 
Valparaiso  to  Santiago,  for  example,  for  $2.70  gold,  and  by 
paying  30  cents  extra  can  have  a  reserve  seat  in  a  Pullman 
car.  But  there  is  no  allowance  for  baggage.  You  have  to 
pay  3  cents  a  pound  for  every  package  that  goes  into  the  bag- 
gage car,  and  they  will  not  allow  you  to  take  trunks  or  large 
parcels  into  the  passenger  cars.  Economical  travelers  evade 
this  regulation  by  arranging  their  belongings  in  several  small 
packages  and  valises  instead  of  a  single  large  one.  Similar 
rates  are  charged  on  the  other  lines  that  belong  to  the  govern- 
ment.    On  those  owned  by  private  corporations  the  taiiff  is 

384 


SANTIAGO.   THE  CAPITAL  OF  CHILE         385 

much  higher,  but  they  are  run  for  profit  and  not  as  political 
machines. 

Chile  has  the  only  Pullman  cars  on  the  west  coast  of 
South  America.  Although  they  are  still  very  comfortable  and 
a  great  improvement  upon  the  ordinary  coaches,  they  are  of 
the  old  fashion,  the  pattern  of  twenty  years  ago,  and  look 
quite  antiquated  in  comparison  with  the  modern  sleepers  and 
parlor  cars  we  see  in  the  United  States.  The  Pullmans  are 
well  patronized,  for  the  people  are  fond  of  luxury  and  comfort. 
The  entire  rolling  stock  of  the  road  is  rather  antiquated,  of 
the  American  pattern,  and  needs  painting  and  repairs.  The 
same  complaint  will  apply  to  all  of  the  government  roads. 
They  are  not  kept  up.  The  managers  know  that  they  are 
losing  money,  and  naturally  want  to  keep  the  deficit  down  as 
low  as  possible  for  their  own  credit.  They  therefore  spend 
very  little  for  new  rolling  stock  and  repairs. 

The  railway  stations  at  Valparaiso  and  Santiago  are  splen- 
did structures  of  imposing  architecture,  well  adapted  for  their 
purpose,  and  are  much  superior  to  those  usually  found  in 
cities  of  similar  size  in  the  United  States.  The  employes  of 
the  passenger  trains  and  at  the  stations  are  courteous  and 
attentive,  the  eating  houses  are  well  kept  and  served,  the 
scenery  is  picturesque,  and  altogether  the  journey  is  enjoyable. 

The  first  stop  of  importance  is  in  Vin  del  Mar,  the  aristo- 
cratic suburb  of  Valparaiso,  where  the  rich  have  summer 
residences,  and  there  is  a  fine  big  hotel  for  the  accommodation 
of  people  who  are  not  so  fortunate.  Sea  bathing,  fishing, 
delightful  drives,  a  race  course,  tennis  courts,  golf  links,  polo 
grounds  and  other  appurtenances  for  pleasure  and  pastime  are 
abundant  and  are  thoroughly  enjoyable.  Sunday  is  a  gala  day 
at  Vin  del  Mar.  The  people  of  Chile  have  passed  the  bull- 
fight period  in  civilization,  but  have  horse  races  every  Sunday 
afternoon,  which  are  attended  by  everybody.  The  residenters 
entertain  house  parties  of  friends  from  town,  and  the  hotels 
are  filled  with  city  people  who  come  early  and  go  back  late. 

Farther  up  the  valley  which  the  railroad  follows  is  some 
splendid  scenery,  including  an  extended  view  of  Aconcagua, 
which  is  claimed  to  be  the  highest  mountain  in  America,  and 


386    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

lifts  its  peak  nearly  25,000  feet  above  the  sea.  Sir  Martin 
Conway,  the  Alpine  climber  of  England,  found  that  Illampu 
and  Sorata  in  Bolivia  were  higher,  or  at  least  that  was  the  story 
he  gave  out  at  La  Paz  when  he  returned  from  his  ascent,  but 
after  he  got  to  Chile  he  appears  to  have  revised  his  reports  and 
redued  their  elevation  about  2,000  feet. 

Aconcagua  is  not  so  picturesque  a  peak  as  those  you  see  in 
Ecuador  and  Bolivia,  and  notwithstanding  its  great  height  is 
less  imposing,  because  the  summit  is  flat  and  shapeless.  It 
looks  as  if  somebody  had  sat  upon  it  immediately  after  crea- 
tion, while  it  was  still  warm,  and  squashed  it  down. 

The  railway  tracks  follow  a  beautiful  river  that  foams  and 
laughs  in  a  series  of  little  cascades.  Frequently  the  valley 
spreads  out  into  generous  dimensions  to  give  room  for  hacien- 
das that  are  well  kept  and  highly  cultivated.  The  farmers 
are  plowing  and  planting  just  now,  turning  the  rich  loam  with 
modern  plows  drawn  by  fine,  fat  oxen.  We  realize  at  once 
that  we  have  returned  to  the  realms  of  civilization — out  of  the 
past,  as  represented  by  the  primitive  and  antique  processes  of 
Peru  and  Ecuador,  into  the  present,  as  examplified  in  the 
enterprising  up-to-date  Chilanos,  who  are  as  eager  to  secure 
the  latest  modern  improvements  as  their  neighbors  of  the 
other  west  coast  republics  are  to  cling  to  the  customs  of  their 
fathers.  This,  however,  is  largely  a  matter  of  climate.  As 
you  approach  the  temperate  zones  nature  exacts  more  labor  as 
the  price  of  existence.  A  higher  value  is  placed  upon  human 
life,  and  more  energy  and  intelligence  are  applied  to  its  devel- 
opment. 

No  city  in  the  world  has  a  finer  location  than  Santiago.  It 
is  situated  in  the  center  of  a  magnificent  amphitheater  about 
forty  miles  long  and  eighteen  miles  wide,  inclosed  by  a  mighty 
wall  of  mountains,  which  for  more  than  one -half  the  distance 
are  covered  with  perpetual  snow.  Lucerne,  Interlaken,  and 
other  mountain  resorts  of  Switzerland  are  mere  miniatures 
compared  with  Santiago,  and  although  La  Paz  has  a  much 
greater  elevation,  and  is  surrounded  by  mightier  peaks,  they 
do  not  lie  in  such  close  proximity,  and,  being  nearer  the  trop- 
ics,  have  not  been   covered  by  nature   with  such  a  heavy 


SANTIAGO,    THE   CAPITAL   OF   CHILE         387 

blanket  of  snow.  The  highest  peaks  that  surround  Santiago 
do  not  rise  to  a  greater  elevation  than  17,000  and  18,000  feet. 
The  snow  line  is  between  13,000  and  14,000  feet;  then  comes 
a  belt  of  timber,  and  below  it  the  slopes  and  foothills  furnish 
pasture  for  millions  of  cattle  and  lead  down  to  the  wine  belt, 
where  are  splendid  vineyards.  One  of  them,  belonging  to  Mr. 
Errazuriz,  formerly  minister  of  foreign  affairs,  covers  more 
than  1,000  acres  and  is  claimed  by  Chilanos  to  be  the  largest 
in  the  world,  although  the  vineyard  of  the  late  Senator  Stan- 
ford in  Tehama  county,  California,  contains  3,580  acres  in 
grapes  and  more  than  1,000,000  vines. 

The  wines  of  Chile  have  long  had  a  local  fame,  and  are  now 
being  exported  in  considerable  quantities.  There  is  an  asso- 
ciation for  the  promotion  of  the  foreign  trade,  and  the  govern- 
ment is  aiding  it  with  contributions  of  money.  The  climate  is 
similar  to  that  of  the  Pyrenees.  The  soil  is  eminently  suitable 
for  grape  culture,  and  the  area  is  practically  unlimited.  The 
Macul  estate,  which  belonged  to  the  late  Widow  Cousino,  who 
was  reputed  to  be  the  richest  woman  in  the  world,  is  second  in 
extent  to  that  of  Mr.  Errazuriz,  and  even  more  beautiful  in  its 
appointments  and  landscape  culture. 

The  level  portion  of  the  amphitheater  is  highly  cultivated 
with  all  sorts  of  crops  such  as  we  grow  in  our  temperate  zone. 
It  is  divided  into  large  haciendas,  with  fine  cattle  and  horses 
at  the  breeding  farms  which  are  attached  to  nearly  every  one 
of  them.  The  haciendos  of  Chile  take  great  pride  in  their  live 
stock,  and  breed  hunters  and  running  horses  as  well  as  more 
substantial  stock.  Their  residences  resemble  the  baronial 
mansions  of  England  and  their  owners  live  like  English  lords. 
Nearly  all  the  estates  are  heavily  mortgaged  to  meet  the 
extravagance  of  their  owners,  who  are  in  the  habit  of  antici- 
pating their  incomes  to  gratify  their  love  of  luxury  and  dis- 
play, and  spending  money  faster  than  they  make  it.  It  was 
these  people  who  borrowed  the  gold  which  the  banks  received 
from  the  government  in  redemption  of  their  paper  notes. 

There  are  many  beautiful  drives,  parks  and  pleasure  resorts 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  city  of  Santiago,  and  on  Sundays 
particularly   they   are   thronged  with  the  amusement-loving 


388    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

population,  who  spend  the  day  in  recreation  and  the  night  in 
carousal,  and  the  next  day  in  sleeping  it  off. 

In  the  center  of  the  city  of  Santiago,  and  the  great  amphi- 
theater I  have  described,  is  a  little  park  known  as  "El  Cerro 
de  Santa  Lucia,"  which  I  have  long  held  to  be  the  prettiest 
place  in  the  world.  From  the  midst  of  the  plain  rises  a  pile 
of  rocks  about  400  feet  high  and  at  the  base  covering  an  area 
of  seven  or  eight  acres.  It  is  a  freak  of  nature.  The  geolo- 
gists say  that  some  wandering  iceberg  dropped  these  rocks 
there  during  the  glacial  period ;  others  contend  that  they  are 
evidence  of  a  terrestrial  convulsion  and  were  thrown  up  some 
time  when  Mother  Earth  had  a  terrible  colic,  but  their  origin 
is  a  matter  of  very  little  importance.  It  is  enough  to  see  that 
they  are  there,  and  have  been  decorated  and  improved  in  a 
most  artistic  manner  by  the  late  Benjamin  Vicuna  Mackenna, 
one  of  the  ablest  and  noblest  men  that  ever  lived  in  Chile.  It 
is  difificult  to  get  a  photograph  of  the  place  because  of  the 
foliage  which  covers  the  little  mountain.  The  summit  is 
reached  by  several  winding  roads  and  walks,  that  are  walled 
up  in  a  most  picturesque  manner,  with  towers  and  battlements 
like  a  mediaeval  castle.  At  intervals  are  kiosks  for  music  and 
refreshment;  half  way  up  is  a  theater,  where  light  opera  and 
vaudeville  entertainments  are  given  afternoons  and  evenings; 
a  little  farther  on  is  a  restaurant,  where  people  come  to  dine 
and  breakfast,  and  near  the  summit  is  a  little  chapel  in  which 
the  remains  of  Mr.  Mackenna  are  buried.  He  owned  this 
place,  beautified  it  at  his  own  expense  and  then  presented  it 
to  the  city.  It  was  rather  incongruous  to  place  a  mortuary 
chapel  in  the  midst  of  a  pleasure  resort,  but  Mr.  Mackenna 
insisted  that  his  bones  should  be  buried  here,  and  in  order  to 
make  sure  of  it  he  built  the  chapel  and  the  tomb  himself  and 
made  it  a  condition  of  his  gift  to  his  fellow-citizens.  There  is 
a  monument  to  an  archbishop  near  by,  and  another  to  Padro 
Valdivia,  one  of  the  famous  knights  identified  with  the  con- 
quest of  Chile. 

Many  years  ago,  before  Santa  Lucia  became  the  property 
of  Mr.  Mackenna,  it  was  used  as  a  dumping  ground  and  a 
potter's  field,  and  before  the  cemeteries  of  the  country  were 


SANTIAGO,   THE  CAPITAL  OF  CHILE         389 

opened  to  Jews  and  gentiles,  all  that  sort  of  folk,  including 
protestants,  duelists,  suicides,  atheists  and  others  who  had 
been  excommunicated  or  were  under  the  ban  of  the  church, 
found  burial  here.  When  Mr.  Mackenna  began  to  fit  the  place 
out  for  a  park  their  bones  were  removed  to  the  corner  of  one 
of  the  catholic  cemeteries  and  were  allowed  to  lie  in  conse- 
crated ground.  The  church  authorities  erected  a  monument 
over  their  remains  and  inscribed  upon  it  a  most  extraordinary 
epitaph,  which  informs  all  comers  that  the  souls  of  those  who 
lie  beneath  are  "exiles  from  both  heaven  and  earth." 

From  the  summit  of  Santa  Lucia  is  a  sublime  view.  You 
can  see  everything  within  the  great  amphitheater  I  have  de- 
scribed, and  few  landscapes  in  all  the  world  are  so  glorious.  I 
used  to  go  there  every  morning  to  get  this  view,  and  I  know 
people  who  have  been  going  every  fair  day  for  years  with  the 
same  object. 

From  Santa  Lucia  a  broad  highway  called  the  Alameda 
leads  down  to  a  government  park,  known  as  the  Quinta  Nor- 
mal, on  the  other  side  of  the  city,  four  miles  away,  where  a 
botanical  garden  and  experimental  station  is  maintained  by 
the  agricultural  department,  with  a  zoo,  a  museum  and  a  pub- 
lic playground  for  the  benefit  of  the  people.  There  is  a  fine 
exposition  building,  in  which  agricultural  fairs  are  held 
annually,  and  industrial  expositions  are  made  from  time  to 
time.  A  restaurant  near  by  is  a  popular  resort  for  the  rich 
people,  but  the  poor  go  to  Cousino  Park,  on  another  side  of  the 
city,  which  was  presented  to  the  public  by  a  rich  widow  of  that 
name,  and  is  a  popular  assembling  ground  for  the  common 
people,  with  cheap  caf^s,  drinking  places,  merry-go-rounds 
and  various  other  forms  of  entertainment  for  the  thousands. 
It  is  here  that  you  see  the  peons  of  Chile  at  their  best,  and  can 
study  the  customs  of  a  most  original  and  interesting  people. 
In  the  center  of  the  park  is  a  big  circular  parade  ground  with 
a  mile  track  around  it.  The  latter  is  used  for  fast  driving  and 
the  former  for  cavalry  drills,  which  attract  a  great  many 
spectators. 

In  various  parts  of  Cousino  Park  are  booths  and  stands  for 
dancing,  and  any  Sunday  afternoon  and  evening  you  can  see 


390    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

the  "zama-cuaca" — the  Chilean  national  dance,  pronounced 
zama-quaker.  It  is  a  sort  of  decent  cancan,  and  the  men 
instead  of  women  do  [the  high  kicking.  The  couples  pair  off 
with  handkerchiefs  in  their  hands,  and  dance  face  to  face, 
while  on  a  bench  near  by  the  musicians  pick  mandolins,  thrum 
guitars  and  the  spectators  sing  a  charming  air  in  polka  time. 
Each  dancer  waves  his  handkerchief  with  graceful  gestures  in 
the  air,  sways  around  in  postures  that  are  intended  to  show 
grace  and  suppleness,  and  the  women  raise  their  skirts  just 
high  enough  to  show  the  color  of  their  stockings. 

The  Alameda,  the  grand  boulevard  of  Santiago,  is  600  feet 
wide,  broken  by  four  rows  of  poplar  trees,  and  stretches  the 
full  length  of  the  city.  In  the  center  is  a  promenade  for 
pedestrians,  with  a  street-car  track  on  either  side,  and  two 
driveways,  each  100  feet  wide.  The  promenade  is  broken  by  a 
number  of  monuments  commemorating  important  events  in 
the  history  of  Chile,  and  the  statues  of  famous  men.  There 
are  several  stands  where  military  bands  give  music  every 
afternoon  during  the  season,  when  all  the  population  comes 
out  to  walk  or  drive. 

Fronting  the  Alameda  are  the  finest  residences  in  the  city, 
and  several  of  them  are  magnificent ;  but  the  pavements  are 
abominable,  not  only  on  the  Alameda,  which  is  the  favorite 
driveway,  but  everywhere  throughout  Santiago,  and  it  seems 
extraordinary  that  this  should  be  tolerated  by  a  people  famous 
for  their  pride  as  well  as  for  their  fine  horses  and  carriages. 

The  finest  private  residences  on  the  southern  continent  arid 
among  the  finest  in  America  are  those  erected  by  the  late 
Seiiora  Isidora  Cousino  at  Santiago  and  at  Lota,  Chile.  Her 
city  residence  compares  well  with  any  in  New  York,  and  her 
chateau  of  white  Italian  marble  at  Lota,  where  her  coal  mines 
are,  would  do  credit  to  Newport.  It  stands  in  the  center  of  a 
French  landscape  garden  with  every  possible  embellishment, 
and  few  pleasure  grounds  in  Europe  can  compare  with  it.  I 
know  of  none  in  the  United  States  unless  it  be  Biltmore,  the 
estate  of  George  Vanderbilt  in  the  North  Carolina  mountains, 
which  is,  however,  essentially  different  in  most  respects,  being 
practical  in  its  purpose,  while  the  park  at  Lota  was  intended 


SANTIAGO,    THE   CAPITAL  OF  CHILE         391 

for  pleasure.  Every  particle  of  material  that  entered  into  the 
chateau  at  Lota  is  said  to  have  been  brought  from  France  in 
Senora  Cousino's  own  ships,  and  the  interior  is  adorned  with 
sumptuous  furniture  and  decorations  by  famous  French  artists. 
The  house  was  incomplete  at  the  time  of  her  death  several 
years  ago,  and  is  allowed  to  remain  unfinished.  Her  sons  and 
daughters,  who  inherited  the  estate,  have  neither  the  love  or 
taste  for  luxury  that  caused  their  mother  to  be  called  "Dona 
Monte  Cristo. ' ' 

The  house  at  Santiago  was  designed  by  a  French  architect, 
and  entirely  constructed,  decorated  and  furnished  by  French 
artists  and  artisans.  It  is  of  the  Ionic  order  of  architecture, 
with  brick  stuccoed  to  resemble  brown  stone,  panels  of  blue 
and  yellow  fiance,  tiles  set  in  the  facade,  imposing  cornices, 
and  graceful  pilasters  to  relieve  the  flatness  of  the  walls.  It  is 
surrounded  by  a  typical  French  garden  with  an  abundance  of 
flowers  and  perhaps  the  best  lawn  in  Chile,  for  turf  does  not 
grow  well  there. 

The  interior  decorations  are  expensive  and  artistic,  but 
scarcely  appropriate  for  a  private  residence.  They  were  done 
by  the  same  men  who  adorned  the  grand  opera  house  at  Paris, 
and  would  look  better  in  the  foyer  of  a  theater  or  a  restaurant 
than  the  home  of  a  private  family.  The  entrance  hall,  which 
is  a  noble  apartment,  and  the  grand  staircase  are  adorned  with 
frivolous  French  scenes — the  Place  de  la  Concorde  on  the  occa- 
sion of  a  festival ;  the  race  course  at  Longchamps,  a  mask  ball 
at  the  grand  opera  house  at  Paris,  and  a  striking  representa- 
tion of  that  center  of  the  world's  frivolities,  the  focus  of  the 
boulevards  and  the  avenues  at  the  Grand  Hotel  in  Paris. 
There  has  been  a  great  deal  of  criticism  of  these  decorations. 
The  house  has  been  one  of  the  principal  show  places  in  Santi- 
ago ever  since  it  was  erected.  Strangers  have  always  been 
admitted  to  share  with  Madame  Cousino  the  enjoyment  of  its 
gorgeousness.  Thoughtful  people  usually  suggest  that  her 
decorator  might  have  chosen  more  appropriate  subjects  for 
the  mural  paintings,  but  those  familiar  with  the  taste  and  the 
career  of  that  remarkable  woman  feel  that  there  was  no 
incongruity  in  the  selections. 


392    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 


There  are  other  beautiful  residences  in  Santiago,  and  many 
of  them,  particularly  those  along  the  Alameda,  have  imposing 
f agades ;  but  the  real  homes  of  Chile  turn  their  blind  side  to 
the  public,  and  their  beauties  and  comforts  are  only  revealed 
to  those  who  have  the  privilege  of  entering  them,  and  to  those 
who  catch  minute  glimpses  through  the  big  gates  of  wrought 
iron  that  protect  them  from  intrusion. 

Senora  Cousino  had  the  reputation  of  being  the  richest 
woman  in  the  world  and  her  extravagance  was  a  frequent 
theme  of  newspaper  gossip  in  Europe  as  well  as  in  Chile ;  but 
when  the  estate  was  settled  after  her  death  there  was  consid- 
erable surprise  and  disappointment  at  the  low  appraisement 
of  the  property.  It  was  evident  that  her  enormous  income 
was  not  greater  than  her  extravagance  and  that  her  property 
had  depreciated  in  value  considerably  since  the  revolution. 
She  left  four  children,  two  sons  and  two  daughters,  among 
whom  the  property  was  divided,  but  in  comparison  with  her 
conspicuous  hospitality  and  gaiety  their  lives  are  very  quiet. 

Madame  Cousino  traced  her  ancestors  back  several  centu- 
ries, and  had  a  collection  of  their  portraits.  The  ancestors  of 
her  husband  also  came  to  Chile  early,  and  in  the  partition  of 
the  lands  and  spoils  of  the  conquest  both  got  a  large  share, 
which  they  kept  and  increased  by  adding  the  portion  given  to 
less  thrifty  and  less  enterprising  associates,  until  the  two  large 
estates  became  the  largest,  most  productive  and  most  valuable 
of  all  Chile  and  were  finally  consolidated  by  marriage.  While 
he  lived  he  was  considered  the  richest  man  in  Chile,  and  she 
the  richest  woman,  for  their  property  was  kept  separate,  the 
husband  managing  his  estates  and  the  wife  her  own,  and  peo- 
ple say  she  was  the  better  administrator  of  the  two.  This  fact 
he  acknowledged  in  his  will  when  he  bequeathed  all  of  his 
possessions  to  her,  and  she  piled  his  Pelion  upon  her  Ossa, 
until  she  had  millions  of  dollars  in  money,  flocks  and  herds 
that  were  numbered  by  the  hundreds  of  thousands,  coal,  cop- 
per and  silver  mines,  acres  of  real  estate  in  the  cities  of  Santi- 
ago and  Valparaiso,  a  fleet  of  iron  steamships,  smelting  works, 
a  railroad,  and  various  other  trifles  in  the  way  of  productive 
property,  which  yielded  several  millions  a  year.      She  tried 


SANTIAGO,    THE   CAPITAL   OF   CHILE         393 

very  hard  to  spend  her  income  and  under  the  circumstances 
succeeded  as  well  as  could  be  expected. 

She  had  another  park  and  palace,  an  hour's  drive  from 
Santiago, — the  finest  "estancia"  or  plantation  in  Chile,  per- 
haps in  all  South  America,  and  I  do  not  know  of  one  in  North 
America  or  Europe  that  will  equal  it.  This  is  called  *'Macul," 
and  stretches  from  the  boundaries  of  the  city  of  Santiago  far 
I  into  the  Cordilleras,  whose  glistening  caps  of  everlasting  snow 
marks  the  limits  of  "the  widow's  mite."  In  the  valleys  are 
fields  of  grain,  orchards,  and  vineyards  while  in  the  foothills 
of  the  mountains,  flocks  of  sheep  and  herds  of  cattle  feed. 
Here  she  gave  employment  to  300  or  400  men  organized  under 
the  direction  of  superintendents,  most  of  whom  were  Scotch- 
men. She  had  one  American  in  her  employ  at  "Macul"  whose 
business  was  that  of  a  general  farmer,  but  his  time  was  mostly 
occupied  in  teaching  the  natives  on  the  place  how  to  operate 
labor-saving  agricultural  machinery. 

Farming  in  Chile  is  conducted  very  much  as  it  was  in  Eng- 
land in  old  feudal  times,  each  estate  having  its  retainers,  who 
are  permitted  to  use  tenements,  or  homes  built  for  that  pur- 
pose, and  are  paid  for  the  amount  of  labor  they  perform. 
These  peons  are  not  permitted  to  accept  employment  from 
any  one  except  their  landlord  without  his  permission,  and  are 
always  subject  to  his  call  for  purpose  of  war  or  peace.  It  is 
said  that  the  Seiiora  could  marshal  a  thousand  men  from  her 
two  farms  if  she  needed  them. 

The  vineyard  of  "Macul"  supplies  the  market  of  Chile  with 
claret  and  sherry  wines,  and  the  cellar,  an  enormous  building 
500  feet  long  by  100  wide  is  still  kept  constantly  full.  On  this 
farm  she  had  valuable  imported  stock,  both  cattle  and  horses, 
and  her  racing  stable  was  the  most  extensive  and  successful  in 
South  America.  The  Madame  took  a  great  interest  in  the  turf, 
attended  every  racing  meeting  in  Chile,  and  always  bet  heav- 
ily upon  her  own  horses. 

While  the  people  of  Chile  are  no  more  enterprising  than 
those  of  the  Argentine  Republic  they  have  some  different 
traits.  Two  of  the  chief  ones  are  pride  and  patriotism.  They 
resemble  the  Irish  in  many  respects,  in  their  wit,  recklessness, 


394   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

their  love  of  a  scrap  and  their  tendency  to  hit  a  head  when- 
ever they  see  it,  no  matter  to  whom  it  belongs.  A  Chilano 
fights  for  the  love  of  fighting,  as  Terence  Mulvaney  expressed 
it  in  one  of  Kipling's  stories.  They  are  ardent  lovers,  devoted 
friends,  vicious  and  vindictive  enemies.  They  have  little  self- 
control,  but  are  impetuous,  impulsive,  passionate  and  gener- 
ous. They  make  fine  soldiers,  but  have  no  sense  of  mercy. 
They  are  the  best  fighters  in  South  America,  having  a  mixture 
of  the  Spanish  blood  and  that  of  the  Aracanian  Indians,  who 
were  never  subdued  by  the  conquisitadores. 

The  great  obstacle,  however,  to  the  development  of  Chile, 
the  great  handicap  to  her  common  people  and  the  curse  of  the 
country,  are  the  large  estates  and  the  system  of  peonage, 
under  which  a  poor  man  has  no  chance  of  acquiring  property 
or  advancing  his  interests  and  condition  in  life.  The  Argen- 
tine Republic  enjoys  the  advantage  of  possessing  a  vast  area 
of  public  land  where  everybody  can  have  a  farm  and  enjoy  the 
reward  of  his  own  labor.  In  Chile  there  is  an  inexorable  law 
which  prohibits  individual  advancement  among  the  common 
people,  and  the  painful  realization  of  that  fact  has  deprived 
the  working  classes  of  ambition  and  self-respect. 

Farming  is  conducted  upon  a  large  scale  and  scientific 
principles.  The  agricultural  schools  of  Chile  are  well  attended 
and  exercise  a  wide  influence  upon  the  proper  cultivation  of 
the  soil.  The  patron  or  haciendado  keeps  a  close  observation 
upon  every  part  of  the  estate,  and  starts  out  every  morning 
upon  his  pon}'-,  wearing  a  broad-brimmed  hat  and  a  gay  poncho, 
to  supervise  the  work  of  his  tenants  and  the  peasants  in  his 
own  employ. 

The  landholding  aristocracy  of  Chile  are  a  highly  educated 
and  cultured  people.  They  live  in  handsome  houses,  luxuri- 
ously furnished  and  adorned  with  works  of  art  that  indicate 
taste  and  refinement.  They  have  libraries  and  go  in  for 
bindings  and  first  editions  and  all  kinds  of  fads.  They  are 
educated  in  music,  and  are  much  more  advanced  in  social 
accomplishments  than  our  own  people.  You  seldom  find  a 
society  woman  in  Santiago  or  Valparaiso  who  does  not  speak 
at  least  two  languages,  and  most  of  them  three.     They  are 


SANTIAGO,    THE  CAPITAL   OF   CHILE        395 

excessively  formal  with  strangers,  and  are  fastidious  about 
matters  of  etiquette  and  dress.  You  can  tell  the  tastes  of  a 
people  from  their  shop  windows,  which  in  Santiago  are  as 
lovely  and  alluring  as  those  of  Paris.  They  are  full  of  the  lat- 
est fashions  and  novelties  from  every  country.  In  fact,  it  is 
the  boast  of  the  people  that  they  can  buy  anything  in  Santiago 
that  can  be  bought  in  Paris. 

There  are  several  large  department  stores  and  arcades  and 
por tales  filled  with  little  shops  for  the  sale  of  jewelry,  millinery 
and  fancy  goods,  which  indicates  the  extravagance  and  the 
luxurious  tastes  of  the  population.  No  city  of  the  size  of 
Santiago,  256,600  inhabitants,  either  in  the  United  States  or 
Europe,  has  so  many  fine  stores  or  can  show  a  more  elaborate 
display  of  the  gilded  side  of  life. 

Religious  toleration  prevails  and  freedom  of  public  worship 
is  permitted.  The  civil  rite  of  marriage  alone  is  recognized 
by  the  courts,  although  it  is  customary  for  people  in  high  life 
and  the  middle  classes  to  have  a  second  ceremony  and  receive 
the  benediction  of  the  church.  Among  the  common  people 
and  the  laboring  element,  however,  marriages  are  invariably 
celebrated  at  the  office  of  the  registrar  of  vital  statistics,  and 
no  fee  is  required. 

The  cemeteries  are  open  to  Jews,  gentiles  and  protestants, 
and  are  under  the  control  of  the  municipal  authorities.  The 
spirit  of  liberty  prevails  in  Chile  more  than  in  any  other  South 
American  country  except  the  Argentine  Republic,  and  any 
attempt  of  the  conservative  party  to  interfere  with  the  rights 
of  the  people  or  restrict  the  freedom  that  was  secured  by  the 
liberals  would  provoke  its  overthrow. 

The  army  and  the  navy  of  Chile  have  reached  an  advanced 
state  of  perfection.  The  navy  is  eighth  in  strength  among 
the  nations  of  the  world,  being  surpassed  only  by  those  of 
England,  France,  Germany,  the  United  States,  Russia,  Italy 
and  Japan.  The  annual  appropriations  for  the  support  of  the 
navy  amount  to  $13,000,000,  and  for  the  army  $11,000,000. 
During  the  five  years  from  1895  to  1900  over  $200,000,000  has 
been  spent  by  the  government  of  Chile  upon  its  army,  navy 
and  coast  defenses.     The  army  is  modeled  upon  the  German 


396  BETWEEN  THE  ANDES  AND  THE  OCEAN 


system,  24,000  strong,  and  has  German  instructors  in  tactics 
and  discipline,  German  uniforms  also.  The  officers  are  fine- 
looking  men,  and  are  very  numerous  upon  the  streets  of 
the  city. 

The  cathedral  is  rather  an  ordinary  looking  building  from 
the  outside,  but  the  interior  is  handsome,  and  the  archbishop's 
palace  which  adjoins  it  and  fronts  the  central  plaza  is  one  of 
the  largest  and  most  imposing  buildings  in  Santiago. 

There  is  a  club  near  by  which  is  equal  to  anything  of  the 
kind  in  the  United  States  outside  of  New  York  City.  It  has  a 
fine  library,  reading  rooms,  papers  from  all  parts  of  the  world, 
and  is  a  favorite  meeting  place  for  politicians. 

Fronting  the  plaza  on  one  side  are  the  cathedral  and  the 
archbishop's  palace,  on  another  side  the  city  hall  and  the  gen- 
eral postoffice,  the  third  side  is  occupied  by  hotels,  and  the 
fourth  by  business  houses,  which  are  surrounded  by  portales 
similar  to  those  on  the  Rue  de  Rivoli  and  the  Palais  Royal  in 
Paris — rows  of  small  shops,  caf^s,  where  the  people  gather  and 
promenade. 

The  street-car  service  is  excellent,  although  the  motive 
power  is  mules.  There  is  an  electric  plant  in  progress,  how- 
ever, and  an  underground  system  similar  to  that  in  Washing- 
ton will  be  adopted  very  soon.  All  of  the  lines  concentrate  at 
the  plaza  in  the  center  of  the  city,  where  you  can  find  a  car  for 
any  of  the  suburbs.  The  conductors  here,  as  in  other  parts  of 
Chile,  are  young  women,  who  wear  a  neat  livery  and  perform 
excellent  service.  It  is  a  new  field  for  women,  but  might 
properly  be  introduced  elsewhere  with  equal  success.  The 
conductors  are  seldom  insulted,  and  they  show  great  tact  in 
their  treatment  of  refractory  passengers.  If  they  have  trouble 
it  is  only  necessary  for  them  to  blow  a  whistle  and  summon  a 
policeman,  who  is  found  upon  nearly  every  corner. 

The  women  conductors  are  quite  independent,  and  have 
shown  considerable  capacity  in  caring  for  themselves.  They 
had  a  strike  in  Valparaiso  not  long  ago  against  some  offensive 
regulation,  and  nearly  all  the  women  in  town  were  up  in  arms 
to  support  them. 

The  priests  of  the  various  parishes  ride  about  the  city  of 


1 


V-  OF   THE  f^ 

UNIVERSITY 


SANTIAGO,    THE   CAPITAL   OF   CHILE        397 

Santiago  within  carriages  that  bear  marks  of  their  profession 
and  distinction.  I  saw  one  the  other  day  with  a  picture  of  the 
crucifixion  painted  like  a  mojiogram  upon  either  door,  and  I 
have  seen  other  carriages  bearing  pictures  of  the  saints  in 
whose  honor  the  parishes  were  christened. 

While  the  people  of  Chile  are  very  far  advanced  in  civiliza- 
tion, more  so  probably  than  those  of  any  other  country  in 
South  America,  you  still  see  and  hear  some  odd  things,  and 
they  still  stick  to  the  Spanish  language.  It  seems  impossible 
for  the  natives  to  grasp  our  English  pronunciation,  which  is 
sometimes  awkward  when  they  have  to  use  ordinary  English 
names.  For  example,  the  common  name  of  Jones  is  beyond 
their  mastery.  **J"  in  the  Spanish  language  has  the  sound  of 
*'H,"  and  the  Spaniards  pronounce  every  letter  and  syllable  in 
a  word,  hence  the  Chilanos  insist  upon  making  two  syllables 
out  of  Mr.  Jones'  name,  and  calling  him  Mr.  "Ho-nees." 

They  have  similar  trouble  with  Mr.  Giles,  whom  they  are  in 
the  habit  of  referring  to  as  Mr.  *'Hy-lees." 

For  several  days  I  noticed  the  word  "panqueque"  upon  the 
bill  of  fare  at  the  hotel,  and  did  not  know  what  it  was.  There 
is  a  brand  of  wine  from  one  of  the  Chilean  vineyards  with 
that  name,  and  I  supposed  it  was  perhaps  the  same  thing 
referred  to,  although  it  was  difficult  to  understand  why  it 
should  appear  among  the  desserts  on  the  menu  at  the  dinner 
table  and  on  the  bills  of  fare  for  breakfast.  The  best  way  to 
find  out  about  such  things  is  to  try  them,  and  next  morning, 
being  in  an  experimental  mood,  I  ordered  a  "panqueque," 
which,  to  my  amazement,  was  an  ordinary  griddle  cake. 
Then  it  dawned  upon  my  dull  perceptions  that  "panqueque" 
spelt  pancake.  I  called  the  attention  of  the  head  waiter  to  the 
discovery,  and  he  seemed  quite  astonished.  He  could  talk 
English  well,  and  claimed  to  be  familiar  with  the  cuisine  of 
America.  Therefore  he  did  not  see  anything  unusual  in  my 
discovery,  and  I  rather  think  he  wrote  the  bill  of  fare  himself, 
for  he  remarked,  in  a  surprised  tone : 

**What  do  you  call  a  pancake  in  America?" 

To  see  the  aristocracy  of  Santiago  at  its  best  one  must 
attend  the  opera,  which  is  given  four  nights  each  week  during 


39*8    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES  AND  THE   OCEAN 

the  winter  season  by  an  Italian  company  brought  over  with 
full  chorus  and  orchestra  from  Milan,  Italy,  and  its  perform- 
ances are  as  perfect  here  as  there.  The  opera  house,  which  is 
one  of  the  finest  in  the  world,  surpassing  everything  in  Lon- 
don, and  equal  to  anything  we  have  in  the  United  States,  is 
owned  by  the  municipality,  and  equipped  with  costumes,  prop- 
erties and  scenery  for  all  the  standard  operas  and  everything 
new  that  is  successful  in  Paris  or  other  European  musical 
centers.  The  house  is  furnished  free  of  cost,  and  the  city 
government  gives  the  manager  a  subsidy  of  $40,000  a  year  in 
cash.  The  seats  and  boxes  are  sold  by  subscriptions  for  a 
season  of  sixty  nights,  as  in  New  York,  and  are  paid  for  in 
advance.  There  is  usually  a  guaranty  fund  also  to  protect  the 
manager  from  financial  loss.  Those  who  lease  boxes  and  seats 
for  the  season  often  sublet  them  to  strangers,  and  it  is  not 
considered  an  impropriety,  so  that  people  who  are  spending 
only  a  few  days  in  the  city  can  go  to  the  box  office  and  obtain 
seats  by  paying  the  regular  rates.  The  same  company  appears 
thirty  nights  during  the  season  at  Valparaiso  under  similar 
conditions  and  with  a  smaller  subsidy.  The  singers  in  the 
chorus  as  well  as  the  orchestra  are  all  Italians,  and  the  prin- 
cipal ballet  dancers  also  come  from  Milan.  The  soloists  are 
first-class.  The  people  will  not  tolerate  anything  else,  and  the 
audiences  are  quite  as  interesting  as  the  performers,  for  the 
dressing  and  the  display  of  jewels  is  equal  to  that  seen  at  the 
Covent  Garden  in  London,  the  Grand  opera  house  in  Paris,  or 
the  Metropolitan  in  New  York.  It  surpasses  the  displays  at 
Berlin  and  other  cities  of  Germany,  where  the  people  go  to 
hear  the  music  and  not  to  show  their  clothes. 

There  is  a  large  foyer  in  which  the  people  promenade 
between  the  acts,  refreshment  rooms  where  ices,  wines,  sand- 
wiches and  other  light  refreshments  are  served,  a  gentleman's 
caf^,  a  smoking  room  and  other  conveniences.  The  president 
of  the  republic  has  a  large  box  on  one  side  of  the  stage,  and 
the  mayor  of  the  city  has  one  on  the  other  side,  which  are 
ex-officio,  and  a  novelty  I  have  never  seen  before  is  mourning 
boxes,  protected  by  screens,  in  which  people  who  are  not 
wearing  colors  or  going  into  society  can  see  without  being 


SANTIAGO,    THE   CAPITAL  OF  CHILE        399 

seen,  and  enjoy  the  music  in  retirement.  Above  the  foot- 
lights upon  the  stage  is  a  long  row  of  funnels  which  communi- 
cate the  music  by  telephone  to  different  residences  of  the  city. 

Monday  is  a  dies  non  in  Chile.  People  have  learned  by 
long  experience  that  they  can  expect  little  from  their  servants 
and  employes  on  that  day.  They  call  it  '*San  Lunes" — sober- 
ing-up day.  A  manufacturer  goes  to  his  shop  Monday  morn- 
ing to  find  that  only  a  few  of  his  hands  have  reported  for  duty, 
and  even  they  are  in  a  seedy  condition.  In  some  establish- 
ments, in  places  where  labor  is  plenty,  the  hands  who  are 
absent  on  Monday  get  no  work  during  the  week,  but  this  rule 
cannot  be  applied  in  most  of  the  cities,  because  labor  is  so 
scarce  that  employers  are  at  the  mercy  of  their  help,  and  are 
compelled  to  tolerate  their  delinquencies. 

The  mistress  of  a  household  allows  her  servants  a  Sunday 
off  in  turn,  but  seldom  expects  them  to  report  for  duty  on 
Monday,  and  is  never  surprised  to  receive  a  message  from  the 
police  station.  Carpenters,  masons  and  other  mechanics  sel- 
dom work  but  five  days  in  a  week,  for  the  reasons  I  have 
given,  and  there  is  a  proverb  that  the  shoeshops  are  never 
open  on  Monday. 

The  same  customs  attend  the  celebration  of  legal  holidays, 
and  it  requires  five  days  for  the  people  of  Chile  to  express  the 
patriotic  emotions  inspired  by  the  "Diez  y  Ocho  de  Setiem- 
bre" — the  i8th  of  September — or  the  "daisy-ocho,"  as  it  is 
familiarly  called — the  anniversary  of  Chilean  independence. 
Everybody  prepares  for  it.  Houses  are  freshly  painted,  flag 
poles  are  raised  over  every  roof,  bonfires  burn  on  the  surround- 
ing mountains,  fiestas  are  held  in  every  park  and  plaza,  special 
masses  are  sung  in  the  churches,  all  the  banks,  business  houses 
and  manufacturing  establishments  are  closed,  schools  are 
dismissed,  labor  is  suspended  on  all  the  plantations,  and  every- 
body, young  and  old,  great  and  small,  engages  in  the  festivi- 
ties with  a  zeal  and  enthusiasm  that  is  seldom  seen  elsewhere. 

Chile's  struggle  for  freedom  dates  from  September  18, 
18 10,  when  the  first  revolutionary  assembly  met  at  Santiago, 
declared  the  independence  of  the  colony  from  Spain,  and 
appointed  a  provisional  government.     It  was  not,  however, 


1 


400   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

until  February  12,  1818,  that  Barney  O'Higgins,  the  Irish 
patriot  who  had  been  the  successful  commander  of  its  revo- 
lutionary forces,  solemnly  proclaimed  an  independent  republic 
in  the  grand  plaza  of  Santiago,  in  the  presence  of  the  army 
and  a  great  concourse  of  people.  O'Higgins,  the  bishop  and 
all  the  officials  there  knelt  and  made  vows  to  God  that  they 
would  sacrifice  their  lives  and  their  fortunes  in  maintaining 
their  independence,  and  then  marched  up  the  valley,  where  on 
April  3  of  the  same  year — 1818 — they  destroyed  and  captured 
the  last  remnant  of  the  Spanish  forces  after  a  protracted  battle 
and  terrible  carnage. 

Although  the  patriotic  enthusiasm  of  the  Chilanos  is 
greatly  to  be  admired,  the  wise  people  of  the  country  have 
long  felt  that  the  celebration  does  more  harm  than  good 
because  of  the  drunkenness  and  the  crime  and  distress  which 
attend  it.  The  poor  people  save  up  money  the  whole  year 
round  to  pay  for  a  grand  spree  on  this  occasion,  and  when  it  is 
over  find  themselves  not  only  penniless  but  often  deeply  in 
debt  as  the  price  of  their  pleasure.  The  hospitals  are  filled 
with  wounded,  and  there  are  always  a  number  of  deaths  from 
violence  and  exposure. 

To  correct  these  errors  and  promote  the  cause  of  temper- 
ance generally  among  the  people  a  society  called  '*Liga  Contra 
el  Alcoholismo, "  which  literally  means  **a  league  against 
excessive  alcoholism,"  has  recently  been  organized  by  ex- 
President  Montt  and  other  prominent  citizens  of  Chile.  Its 
purpose  is  defined  in  its  name,  and  it  has  already  done  a  great 
deal  of  good.  It  is  not  a  total-abstinence  society.  Its  pro- 
moters are  too  wise  to  make  such  a  suggestion  in  Chile,  but  it 
is  their  object  to  restrain  by  legislation  and  moral  suasion  the 
appetites  of  the  people  and  cultivate  habits  of  temperance 
and  moderation.  It  is  asserted  in  the  preamble  of  the  organi- 
zation of  this  society  that  there  is  more  public  drunkenness  in 
Chile  than  any  other  country  in  the  world,  and  any  one  who 
witnesses  the  "Diez  y  Ocho"  will  readily  believe  it.  It  is  also 
asserted  that  the  physical,  mental  and  moral  condition  of  the 
people  is  being  degraded  by  the  excessive  use  of  alcohol. 
Congress  is  asked  to  pass  laws  regulating  and  limiting  the 


SANTIAGO,    THE   CAPITAL  OF   CHILE        401 

sale  of  liquors  and  employers  are  urged  to  change  the  method 
of  paying  their  hands. 

Ordinary  factory  hands  and  laborers  in  the  cities  of  Chile 
receive  from  40  to  80  cents  a  day,  according  to  their  skill.  It 
is  the  custom  to  pay  each  hand  20  cents  a  day,  called  a 
"diario,"  in  order  that  he  may  provide  food  for  his  family. 
He  gets  the  remainder  of  his  wages  Saturday  night,  and 
usually  spends  every  cent  before  Monday  morning  for  drink 
and  gambling.  Few  of  the  working  people  ever  save  money. 
There  are  no  savings  banks  or  building  and  loan  associations. 
Under  the  leadership  of  an  American  gentleman  the  employes 
of  the  government  railways  have  organized  a  mutual  savings 
system  known  as  the  "Caja  de  Ahoros,"  which  is  entirely  vol- 
untary, and  an  arrangement  is  made  with  the  paymasters  to 
deduct  a  certain  amount  from  their  monthly  wages  and  deposit 
it  with  the  treasurer  of  the  society  as  an  insurance  fund. 
Similar  organizations  are  found  in  several  manufacturing 
institutions,  but  they  are  not  encouraged  by  the  managers, 
because  the  patrons  are  always  begging  for  the  money  on 
deposit  and  offering  all  sorts  of  excuses  and  pretexts  for  with- 
drawing their  savings,  and  thus  making  nuisances  of  them- 
selves. 

Saturday  is  beggars'  day,  when  every  mendicant  is  allowed 
to  appear  upon  the  streets  and  in  the  public  places  and  solicit 
alms  from  house  to  house.  On  otheV  days  of  the  week  none 
but  licensed  beggars  are  allowed  to  appear,  and  those  consist 
of  disabled  soldiers,  widows  of  dead  soldiers,  blind  people  and 
cripples,  who  obtain  certificates  at  police  headquarters  which 
give  them  privileges  ordinary  beggars  do  not  enjoy. 

On  Saturday  also  the  benevolent  societies  issue  food  and 
other  aid  to  the  needy.  The  places  where  aid  can  be  obtained 
are  duly  advertised  in  the  newspapers  and  are  responded  to 
by  large  numbers. 

Everybody  has  heard  of  beggars  on  horseback,  but  they 
are  seldom  seen  except  in  Chile,  where  every  Saturday  the 
sight  is  a  common  one.  Horses  are  plenty  and  cheap.  Every- 
body rides  in  the  country  districts,  and  those  who  do  not  own 
animals  can  easily  borrow  them  for  the  day.     On  the  country 


402    BETWEEN  THE  ANDES   AND   THE  OCEAN 

roads  and  in  the  villages  there  are  hundreds  of  decrepit  crea- 
tures going  from  house  to  house  and  from  store  to  store  and 
visiting  the  haciendas  on  horseback  begging  bread,  old  clothes 
and  anything  else  that  can  be  given  awaj'-. 

Attached  to  the  carriages  in  the  cities  and  on  the  haciendas 
one  sees  fine  horses,  large,  clean,  spirited  animals,  as  fine  as 
any  in  the  world,  but  the  ordinary  draft  animals  are  ponies, 
which  are  used  both  for  packs  and  to  haul  heavy  carts.  They 
are  tough,  strong  and  docile,  will  climb  the  steepest  and 
roughest  trails  as  sure-footed  as  mules,  and  are  capable  of 
great  endurance.  As  pack  animals  they  carry  amazing 
weights  and  do  not  seem  to  mind  what  articles  they  are  loaded 
with.  You  often  see  ponies  laden  with  bureaus,  tables,  sofas, 
sewing  machines,  chests  of  drawers,  iron  bedsteads,  mat- 
tresses, rocking  chairs  and  every  other  kind  of  household 
furniture  and  utensils.  The  carts  are  high  and  have  two 
wheels.  There  is  usually  one  pony  between  the  shafts  and  a 
second  hitched  outside  with  a  saddle,  upon  which  the  teamster 
rides.  Neither  wears  a  bit,  but  they  are  driven  with  halters 
made  of  braided  leather  thongs.  These  ponies  are  said  to  be 
of  Arabian  ancestry,  having  been  introduced  here  soon  after 
the  conquest.  They  make  excellent  saddle  horses,  having  an 
easy,  comfortable  gait,  good  speed  and  great  endurance.  A 
first-class  saddle  horse,  well  bred,  of  large  size,  can  be  bought 
for  $50,  a  well-trained  hunter  for  $100  and  the  ponies  I  have 
described  for  from  $10  to  $15  each. 


I 
I 


XXV 

THE  PRESIDENT  AND  THE  GOVERNMENT  OF  CHILE 

The  president  of  Chile  lives  in  the  upper  comer  of  a  vast 
and  gloomy  old  building  which  is  called  the  Moneda,  because 
it  was  once  used  for  a  mint.  It  is  large  enough  to  accommo- 
date all  the  members  of  the  cabinet  and  their  clerks.  Con- 
gress meets  in  a  stately  edifice  only  a  few  blocks  away,  but 
has  recently  been  driven  out  of  it  by  fire  and  has  taken  refuge 
in  the  University  building  until  the  congressional  halls  can  be 
repaired.  There  are  many  other  fine  public  buildings  in 
Santiago,  by  far  the  most  imposing  from  an  architectural 
standpoint  in  all  South  America,  and  the  private  architecture 
is  quite  up  to  date. 

Spacious  apartments  in  one  comer  of  the  Moneda  are 
reserved  for  the  president  in  connection  with  his  offices.  He 
does  not  always  live  there,  although  it  is  convenient  for  him 
to  do  so,  but  the  apartments  are  kept  up  for  his  use  at  any 
time  he  may  desire  to  occupy  them,  and  all  the  presidents 
have  made  them  available  from  time  to  time,  although  they 
may  have  retained  their  private  residences  elsewhere. 

In  Chile,  as  in  France  and  England,  the  ministry  is  respon- 
sible to  the  legislative  branch  of  the  government  as  the 
representative  of  the  people,  and  not  to  the  executive, 
although  he  appoints  them ;  and  all  legislation  affecting  the 
general  policy  of  the  country  is  supposed  to  originate  with 
them.  An  individual  member  of  congress  may  propose  a 
financial  measure,  for  example,  but  it  is  not  likely  to  receive 
any  attention  unless  its  author  happens  to  be  the  leader  of  one 
of  the  parties,  and  then  it  would  not  be  expedient  for  him  to 
do  such  a  thing.  At  the  beginning  of  every  session  the  presi- 
dent submits  a  message  recommending  the  legislation  he 
desires,  and  sooner  or  later  thereafter  the  different  members 

403 


404   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

of  his  cabinet  present  drafts  of  laws  in  which  those  recom- 
mendations are  formulated.  These  are  discussed,  amended 
and  revised  by  congress  as  much  as  may  be  considered  proper 
or  permitted  by  the  party  leaders.  Sometimes  entirely  new 
measures  may  be  substituted  with  the  assent  of  the  cabinet, 
but  if  an  important  bill  is  rejected  it  is  construed  as  a  lack  of 
confidence  and  the  cabinet  resigns.  Thus,  during  the  first 
two  years  of  his  administration,  President  Errazuriz  was  com- 
pelled to  appoint  six  different  cabinets  because  of  the  refusal 
of  congress  to  accept  financial  legislation  submitted  by  them. 

Unlike  most  of  the  South  American  countries  Chile  will 
not  tolerate  a  boss.  That  was  demonstrated  ten  years  ago 
when  President  Balmaceda  attempted  to  defy  congress.  As  a 
warning  for  all  future  presidents  and  at  an  awful  cost  of  lives 
and  money  he  found  that  the  scheme  would  not  work.  Bal- 
maceda was  by  far  the  best  president  Chile  ever  had — the 
ablest,  the  most  progressive  and  the  most  popular,  and  in 
many  respects  the  wisest,  although  he  fell  into  a  fatal  error 
when  he  attempted  to  carry  out  reforms  that  congress  would 
not  indorse.  It  is  said  that  he  was  influenced  by  the  advice 
of  his  mother,  who  was  a  woman  of  strong  character  and 
stubborn  purpose,  but  the  army  and  the  navy,  the  church  and 
the  plantation  aristocracy  sustained  congress  and  the  constitu- 
tion. After  a  bloody  struggle  Balmaceda  was  overcome,  took 
refuge  in  the  American  legation  and  committed  suicide.  It 
was  a  bitter  factional  fight,  but  the  feeling  has  disappeared 
and  now  almost  everybody  is  willing  to  admit  that  Balmaceda 
was  wise,  honest  and  a  great  benefactor  to  his  country. 

The  overthrow  of  Balmaceda  restored  to  power  the  old 
clerical  party,  now  known  as  the  conservative,  which  is  com- 
posed of  the  landed  aristocracy,  the  old  Spanish  families,  the 
church  and  the  old-fashioned  reactionary  element  that  is 
found  in  all  communities,  but  is  more  numerous  in  the  Latin- 
American  countries  than  elsewhere.  The  liberals  have  not 
been  able  to  recover  from  the  demoralization  of  their  terrible 
defeat  and  are  split  into  several  factions  under  rival  leaders 
known  as  liberals,  democrats,  radicals  and  Balmacedists.  They 
all  profess  similar  principles,  but  seek  their  application  by 


PRESIDENT  AND   GOVERNMENT  OF  CHILE  405 

different  means  and  methods.  The  conservatives,  although  in 
a  minority,  are  compact,  harmonious  and  united  by  social  as 
well  as  political  coalition  and  have  the  powerful  organization 
of  the  church  to  support  and  aid  them. 

The  constitutional  inability  of  the  President  of  Chile  to 
dissolve  the  legislature  of  the  Republic  when  it  is  crippled  by 
a  deadlock,  has  been  the  cause  of  great  embarrassment,  and 
occasioned  the  revolution  of  1891  and  the  overthrow  of  Presi- 
dent Balmaceda.  From  1888  to  1890  there  was  a  political 
situation  in  Chile  similar  to  that  which  exists  at  this  writing 
(1899),  and  continual  changes  in  the  cabinet  occurred  because 
no  political  party  was  able  to  control  a  majority  of  the  votes 
in  the  chamber  of  deputies.  At  the  next  election  President 
Balmaceda  took  active  measures  to  secure  the  return  of  a 
sufficient  number  of  Liberal  candidates  to  control  the  lower 
house,  but  he  was  not  successful.  Then  he  adopted  another 
strategic  movement  and  determined  to  defy  practice  and 
precedent  and  retain  his  cabinet  in  office  regardless  of  votes 
or  lack  of  confidence  and  refusals  to  adopt  their  recommenda- 
tions. He  construed  the  constitution  of  Chile  to  be  similar  to 
that  of  the  United  States  instead  of  France,  which  had  been 
taken  as  a  model,  and  declared  that  the  executive  had  the 
authority  to  select  his  advisers  without  the  approval  of  the 
lower  branch  of  congress.  Some  of  the  ablest  lawyers  in 
Chile  still  hold  this  view,  but  the  congress  refused  to  accept 
it,  and  declined  to  vote  the  necessary  supplies  to  carry  on  the 
government  as  long  as  the  existing  cabinet  remained  in 
power. 

Balmaceda  yielded  in  1890  and  tried  once  more  to  secure  a 
congress  that  would  support  him,  but  this  also  proved  a  failure 
and  he  again  declared  his  cabinet  independent  of  the  caprice 
of  the  chamber  of  deputies.  Congress  retaliated  as  before  by 
refusing  to  appropriate  money  for  the  offensive  ministers  to 
disburse.  In  January,  189 1,  Balmaceda,  by  decree,  declared 
the  appropriations  of  the  previous  year  to  be  continuous  until 
congress  should  otherwise  provide.  The  Congress  promptly 
pronounced  the  action  of  the  president  unconstitutional  and 
revolutionary  and  declared  his  seat  vacant. 


4o6   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

When  peace  was  restored,  after  the  fall  of  Balmaceda,  and 
congress  was  firm  in  power,  the  presidential  election  of  1891 
was  absolutely  free;  there  was  no  coercion,  corruption  or 
unfair  returns,  and  Admiral  Montt  remained  in  office  for  five 
years  without  feeling  the  restrictions  that  had  been  so  odious 
to  his  predecessors;  and  he  was  enabled  to  keep  in  office  a 
responsible  minister  during  his  entire  administration  up  to  the 
last  year  when  the  elections  brought  to  the  front  new  and 
ambitious  men  and  awakened  political  animosities  which  have 
prevented  necessary  legislation.  It  was  under  such  circum- 
stances that  President  Errazuriz  was  elected  in  June,  1896,  and 
assumed  office  during  that  year.  He  has  tried  to  organize 
cabinets  first  from  one  and  then  from  another  party  in  con- 
gress, and  also  by  coalitions  from  several  parties  without 
success,  and  has  never  been  able  to  keep  his  ministers  in 
power  for  more  than  a  few  months  at  a  time,  the  differences 
depending  almost  entirely  upon  financial  legislation  instead  of 
religious  reforms  as  was  the  case  during  the  time  of  Balma- 
ceda. 

The  peace  of  Chile  is  vexed  by  three  international  compli- 
cations. The  first  and  most  serious  is  the  controversy  with 
the  Argentine  Republic  over  the  boundary  line  which  in  1898 
became  so  acute  that  war  seemed  imminent.  Although  they 
maintained  a  bold  and  belligerent  attitude  both  nations 
appealed  to  the  United  States  to  use  its  good  offices  in  secur- 
ing a  settlement,  which  happily  was  arranged  through  the 
appointment  of  Mr.  W.  I.  Buchanan,  the  United  States 
Minister  at  Buenos  Ayres,  as  arbitrator.  The  southern 
section  of  the  boundary  line,  which  runs  through  an  almost 
uninhabited  district  and  is  therefore  of  comparatively  little 
importance  at  present,  will  be  drawn  by  Queen  Victoria  who 
has  appointed  a  commission  to  visit  Patagonia  and  make  a 
survey.  The  decision  will  be  accepted  by  both  governments 
and  there  is  no  further  danger  of  hostilities  growing  out  of 
the  interpretation  of  the  ambiguous  treaty  made  by  the  two 
governments  many  years  ago  which  says  *'the  frontier  shall  be 
the  division  of  the  watershed  in  connection  with  the  highest 
points  of  the  Andes. " 


PRESIDENT  AND   GOVERNMENT   OF   CHILE  407 

The  international  question  of  second  importance  involves 
the  future  of  the  provinces  of  Tacna  and  Arica  which  are 
held  by  Chile  in  lieu  of  indemnity  for  the  cost  of  the  late  war 
with  Peru.  On  this  point,  however,  Chile  is  not  suffering 
either  loss  or  anxiety  because  she  derives  a  large  revenue 
from  that  territory  and  will  continue  to  do  so  as  long  as  the 
question  is  unsettled.  The  treaty  of  peace  provided  that  Peru 
must  pay  Chile  $10,000,000  in  order  to  recover  her  lost  prov- 
inces, or  that  Chile  must  pay  Peru  $10,000,000  if  the  people  of 
those  provinces  decide  by  vote  to  remain  citizens  of  Chile 
rather  than  go  back  to  Peru.  The  limit  of  time  allowed  Peru 
to  redeem  the  pawned  provinces  expired  in  1894,  but  she  was 
unable  to  pay  the  indemnity,  and  Chile,  not  being  prepared 
to  pay  Peru  $10,000,000  at  that  time,  granted  an  extension,  or 
rather  allowed  a  lapse  without  prejudice  to  either  party.  In 
1898,  when  Peru  began  to  recover  her  prosperity,  she  pressed 
for  a  settlement  and  made  a  treaty  under  which  it  was  pro- 
vided that  the  people  of  Tacna  and  Arica  should  have  an 
opportunity  to  decide  under  which  king  they  would  serve ;  the 
government  of  Italy  being  selected  as  an  umpire  to  secure  a 
fair  decision.  The  congress  of  Peru  has  ratified  this  treaty, 
but  the  congress  of  Chile  declined  to  do  so  and  hung  it  up 
indefinitely. 

The  long  strip  of  desert  where  lie  the  nitrate  mines  from 
which  Chile  derives  about  $20,000,000  a  year  revenue,  an 
average  of  $5.50  per  capita  of  the  population,  was  taken  from 
Bolivia  during  the  war  of  1881,  and  will  never  be  given  back, 
although  the  conscientious  citizens  of  Chile  would  like  to  have 
a  lawful  transfer  which  would  console  the  conscience  of  the 
nation  and  enable  it  to  show  unclouded  title  to  its  most  valu- 
able possessions.  For  several  years  an  attempt  has  been  made 
to  induce  Bolivia  to  sign  a  treaty  ceding  this  section  of  terri- 
tory to  Chile,  but  the  Bolivian  authorities  have  refused  to  do 
so  even  though  Chile  has  offered  them  a  seaport  and  a  right  of 
way  across  the  desert  to  reach  it.  It  has  also  been  proposed 
that  Peru  convey  the  provinces  of  Arica  and  Tacna,  now  held 
by  Chile,  to  Bolivia,  provided  Chile  will  release  Peru  from  the 
payment  of  the  $10,000,000  of  indemnity,  and  Peru  will  release 


4o8   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

Chile  from  the  same.  In  other  words,  Chile  proposes  that 
the  territory  in  dispute  be  transferred  to  their  neighbor  Bolivia, 
so  that  she  can  have  access  to  the  sea  and  call  everything 
square. 

The  war  with  Peru  made  Chile  very  rich,  the  richest 
country  in  the  world  in  proportion  to  her  population.  From 
the  nitrate  fields  of  Tarapaca  alone,  which  were  taken  from 
Bolivia,  up  to  ist  of  January,  1900,  the  government  of  Chile 
had  received  no  less  than  $200,000,000  from  export  duties  on 
nitrate  alone,  and  if  this  enormous  sum  had  been  wisely 
applied  to  internal  improvements,  the  development  of  the  nat- 
ural resources  of  the  country  and  the  education  of  the  people, 
it  would  have  placed  Chile  among  nations  of  the  first  class  in 
civilization,  but  a  large  proportion  of  the  money  has  been 
wasted,  and  more  has  been  expended  in  the  construction  of 
fleets  and  fortifications,  and  in  the  support  of  an  army  which 
has  diverted  the  young  men  of  the  country  from  profitable 
industry. 

The  annual  revenue  of  the  government  will  average  $40,- 
000,000  a  year,  with  a  population  of  less  than  2,750,000.  The 
public  debt  is  comparatively  small,  amounting  to  about 
$83,000,000,  which  is  secured  by  1,250  miles  of  railway, 
appraised  at  $70,000,000;  public  lands  valued  at  $40,000,000; 
nitrate  property,  $50,000,000;  guano  deposits,  $5,000,000,  and 
other  property  in  the  way  of  assets  being  valued  at  more  than 
double  the  national  indebtedness.  The  people  of  Chile  have 
great  wealth  as  well  as  the  government.  The  farm  lands 
under  cultivation  are  assessed  for  taxation  at  $340,000,000, 
and  the  city  real  estate  at  $225,000,000,  making  a  total  of 
$565,000,000  or  an  average  of  about  $188  per  capita  of  the 
population. 

The  relations  between  Chile  and  the  United  States  have  not 
been  friendly  for  many  years.  The  prejudice  of  the  people  of 
the  former  republic  was  excited  by  the  attempt  of  our  govern- 
ment to  interfere  in  behalf  of  Peru  during  the  War  of  1879-81. 
We  entered  an  earnest  protest  against  the  devastation  of  Peru 
by  the  Army  of  Chile,  and  sent  a  commission  to  both  countries 
to  tender  our  good  offices  in  negotiating  peace.     As  is  often 


PRESIDENT  AND   GOVERNMENT   OF  CHILE  409 

the  fate  of  peace  makers,  we  succeeded  only  in  awakening  the 
animosity  of  both  countries, — that  of  Peru  because  we  failed, 
and  that  of  Chile  because  we  attempted  to  intervene  and 
prevent  her  from  reaping  the  fruits  of  victory. 

This  national  prejudice  against  the  United  States  was  stimu- 
lated in  a  considerable  degree  by  the  jealousy  of  British  trades- 
men who  were  then  enjoying  a  monopoly  of  the  foreign  trade 
of  Chile,  and  frequent  misunderstandings  aggravated  the  case. 
During  the  revolution  of  1891  in  Chile,  matters  came  to  a  very 
acute  stage.  The  sympathies  of  the  United  States  were 
with  President  Balmaceda  and  the  constitutional  government, 
and  when  he  was  reduced  to  extremities  and  compelled  to  flee 
from  the  palace,  he  sought  asylum  in  the  American  legation, 
which  was  then  presided  over  by  Patrick  Egan,  the  Irish 
advocate,  whose  appointment  as  minister  to  Chile  was  severely 
criticised  by  the  English  colony  in  that  country  which  is 
large  and  influential.  When  the  revolutionists  seized  the 
capital  they  demanded  the  surrender  of  President  Balmaceda, 
but  our  government  declined  to  comply  and  he  remained 
under  its  protection  for  several  weeks.  Mr.  Egan's  instruc- 
tions from  President  Harrison  were  to  shelter  and  protect  his 
guest  until  he  was  satisfied  that  Balmaceda  would  be  given  a 
fair  trial  and  full  justice  by  those  who  had  overthrown  his 
government.  At  the  same  time.  President  Harrison  declined 
to  recognize  Mr.  Montt  who  had  been  sent  to  Washington  by 
the  revolutionists  with  credentials  as  their  minister,  and  who 
made  frequent  applications  to  the  Department  of  State  for 
an  audience  in  his  official  capacity. 

In  the  midst  of  these  complications,  the  United  States 
marshal  of  the  southern  district  of  California  seized  and  held 
the  steamship  "Itata"  of  the  Chilean  line,  which  was  being 
loaded  with  arms  and  ammunition  for  the  insurgents  at  the 
port  of  San  Diego.  This  created  a  tremendous  excitement 
in  Chile,  and  frequent  threats  of  war  were  made  unless  the 
**Itata"  and  her  cargo  were  released.  The  vessel  was  tied  up 
in  the  courts  until  it  was  too  late  for  her  cargo  to  be  of  any 
value  to  the  revolutionists,  and  the  dispute  was  amicably 
settled.     But  the  irritation  it  caused  in  Chile  did  not  subside. 


4IO   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

Another  cause  of  complaint  on  the  part  of  the  successful 
insurgents  was  the  suspicious  movements  of  the  United  States 
cruiser  "Baltimore"  which  then  lay  in  the  harbor  of  Valparaiso 
under  the  command  of  Admiral,  then  commander,  Schley. 
Nearly  all  of  the  Navy  of  Chile  joined  the  revolution  against 
Balmaceda,  and  Admiral  Jorge  Montt  was  the  principal  leader. 
On  the  other  hand  the  greater  part  of  the  army  remained 
loyal  to  the  government.  It  was  therefore  an  odd  sort  of 
conflict,  a  fleet  of  ships  at  sea  attempting  to  carry  on  war  with 
an  army  on  land,  and  the  revolutionists  did  their  most  serious 
damage  by  occupying  the  principal  seaport  towns  and  seizing 
the  custom  houses  which  furnished  almost  the  entire  revenues 
of  the  government.  During  this  time  the  *' Baltimore"  was 
cruising  up  and  down  the  coast  looking  after  the  interests  of 
American  citizens,  and  having  the  privilege  of  entering  and 
leaving  the  blockaded  ports,  at  will.  Commander  Schley  was 
accused  of  furnishing  information  concerning  the  movements 
of  the  fleet  to  the  Balmaceda  government.  He  was  also 
accused  of  assisting  to  cut  the  cable  so  that  the  revolutionists 
were  deprived  of  the  privilege  of  communicating  with  each 
other  and  the  outside  world.  Both  of  these  charges  were 
untrue,  and  a  careful  investigation  failed  to  show  any  violation 
of  the  neutrality  act  on  the  part  of  the  ' '  Baltimore, ' '  although 
it  did  not  satisfy  the  prejudices  of  those  who  sympathized 
with  the  revolution.  Towards  the  close  of  the  war,  after  the 
revolutionists  had  obtained  control  of  Valparaiso  and  the 
capital,  occurred  the  lamentable  tragedy  referred  to  in  diplo- 
matic correspondence  as  *'The  Baltimore  Case,"  which 
brought  the  two  nations  to  the  verge  of  war.  Unfortunately, 
two  boats*  crews  from  the  "Baltimore,"  on  shore  leave, 
landed  in  Valparaiso  on  October  i6,  1891.  In  a  saloon,  in  a 
rather  disreputable  quarter  of  the  city,  an  altercation  arose 
between  Chilean  sailors  and  some  of  the  Baltimore's  -men.  In 
the  row  one  of  the  Chileans  was  knocked  down.  The  Yankee 
sailors  were  then  assaulted  with  fists,  clubs,  knives,  and 
revolvers.  They  sought  to  escape  by  boarding  a  street  car. 
The  car  was  pursued  by  a  mob  and  the  sailors  were  dragged 
from   the    car.     A  riot  followed.      More  than  one  hundred 


PRESIDENT   AND   GOVERNMENT  OF  CHILE  411 

armed  men  fell  upon  the  sailors  after  they  were  dragged  from 
the  car.  Charles  W.  Riggin,  boatswain's  mate,  was  killed 
instantly.  William  Trumbull,  a  coal  heaver,  died  from  injuries 
received  at  the  hands  of  the  mob.  Thirty-six  others  were 
more  or  less  seriously  injured.  Commander  Schley  caused 
an  investigation  to  be  made,  and  on  October  22  telegraphed 
the  results  to  General  Benjamin  F.  Tracy,  then  Secretary  of 
the  Navy. 

The  latter  recently  related  the  hitherto  secret  history  of  the 
affair  as  follows:  "When  Commander  Schley's  report  was 
received  at  the  Navy  Department,  Mr.  Blaine,  the  Secretary 
of  State,  was  out  of  town.     I   presented  the  report  to  the 

[President,  who,  after  going  over  it  carefully,  sent  a  note  to 
the  Chilean  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  Matta.  The  note 
was  very  carefully  worded  and  extremely  mild  in  its  tone.  In 
substance,  it  stated  that  the  report  of  the  trouble  had  been 
received  and  that  the  President  hoped  that  the  seriousness  of 
the  affair  had  been  exaggerated.  If,  however,  the  first  report 
proved  to  be  a  correct  statement  of  the  case,  the  President 
expressed  himself  as  confident  that  the  Chilean  Government 
would  make  whatever  reparation  was  necessary. 

"Soon  after  this  note  was  sent,  Mr,  Blaine  returned  to 
Washington  and  was  made  acquainted  with  the  situation.  No 
reply  to  the  President's  note  was  received  for  a  long  time. 
In  the  interval  Mr.  Blaine  tried  to  arrive  at  some  understand- 
ing with  the  Chilean  minister  at  Washington,  Senor  Pedro 
Montt.  In  this  he  failed,  and,  at  the  end  of  several  weeks, 
the  reply  from  the  Chilean  Government  was  received.  It  was 
50  insulting  that  it  might  almost  have  been  a  cause  for  war  in 
tself.  It  sought  to  justify  the  assault  on  our  sailors  and 
lodged  the  issue  in  every  way  possible. 

"Then  Congress  met  and  the  President  dwelt  at  length  upon 
^the  incident  in  his  message.  While  Congress  was  considering 
the  matter  on  January  20,  1892,  Minister  Montt  presented  a 
lote  from  his  Government  stating  that  Mr.  Egan  was  per- 
iona  non  grata,  and  that  the  Chilean  Government  would  be 
Dleased  to  have  another  minister  sent.  This  note,  coming 
)n  top  of  the  first  one,  and  neither  accompanied  by  an  apology 


412    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

or  an  expression  of  the  desire  to  make  any  reparation,  Presi- 
dent Harrison  sent  what  was  practically  an  ultimatum  to  the 
Chilean  Government.  In  that  note  the  President  held  that  the 
assault  on  the  Baltimore's  men  was  unprovoked;  that  the 
Valparaiso  authorities  had  flagrantly  failed  in  their  duty  ,to 
protect  our  sailors;  that  he  could  not  think  of  recalling  Mr. 
Egan,  and  that  he  should  insist  upon  an  indemnification  of  the 
families  of  the  sailor's  killed  and  of  the  sailors  themselves  who 
had  been  injured,  together  with  an  apology  from  the  Chilean 
Government. 

•'This  note  dispatched,  our  preparations  for  an  emergency 
began.  These  were  carried  on  so  quietly  that  it  never  has 
been  known  just  how  far  we  went.  The  reason  that  we  were 
able  to  keep  what  we  were  doing  from  the  public  was  that  all 
the  preparations  on  the  part  of  the  Government  were  con- 
trolled by  one  person,  who  carried  on  all  his  transactions  with 
principals  and  not  with  agents.  In  this  way  the  Government 
was  saved  a  considerable  amount  in  commissions. 

"As  soon  as  the  note  was  sent  the  Chairmen  of  the  Com- 
mittees on  Naval  Affairs  of  the  Senate  and  House  were  invited 
to  a  conference  with  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  Whatever 
that  official  did  after  that  was  with  the  approval  of  those 
gentlemen.  The  first  order  issued  was  to  make  every  available 
ship  in  the  navy  ready  for  immediate  service. 

*'Next,  all  available 'coal  on  the  Pacific  coast  was  bought 
by  the  Government,  and  the  largest  steamer  owned  by  Collis 
P.  Huntington  was  chartered  to  carry  it  to  Montevideo.  There 
were  5,000  tons  of  this  coal.  Two  cargoes  were  purchased  in 
London  and  two  more  cargoes  in  New  York,  all  to  be  delivered 
at  Montevideo.  Then  the  American  line,  or  what  is  now  the 
American  line,  steamer  Ohio  was  chartered  for  a  repair  ship. 
She  was  sent  to  Boston  and  work  was  immediately  begun  on 
her  to  put  her  in  shape  for  service. 

"These  arrangements  made,  Captain  Mahan  was  invited  to 
consult  with  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  Before  the  consulta- 
tions were  over  a  plan  of  action  had  been  completely  mapped 
out.  According  to  this  plan,  the  first  order  to  be  issued  was 
to  concentrate  the  fleet.     A  point  of  concentration  was  agreed 


PRESIDENT  AND   GOVERNMENT  OF  CHILE  413 

on,  and  this  was  to  be  telegraphed  to  the  three  fleet  com- 
manders with  the  orders  sent  to  them  to  begin  operations. 
Admiral  Gherardi  was  to  be  in  command  of  the  united  fleets. 
*' According  to  the  plan  laid  out,  after  the  fleets  had  con- 
centrated, they  were  to  proceed  to  Chile,  drive  the  Chilean 
men-of-war  under  the  guns  of  the  forts  at  Valparaiso,  and 
then  attack  the  whole  coast  line  of  Chile.  The  coal  mines  in 
the  southern  part  of  that  country  were  to  be  seized,  thus 
cutting  off  the  coal  supply  for  the  warships  of  the  enemy,  and 
all  other  details  were  looked  after.  Then  came  Chile's  note 
of  apology  and  her  offer  of  $75,000  indemnity,  which  was 
accepted.  This  was  distributed  among  the  sailors  who  had 
been  injured  and  among  the  families  of  the  dead." 


XXVI 
THE  BACKBONE  OF  THE  CONTINENT 

What  is  known  to  geographers  as  the  Cordilleras  de  los 
Andes  is  the  longest  and  the  highest  range  of  mountains  in 
the  world.  It  extends  from  Tierra  del  Fuego  to  the  Isthmus 
of  Panama,  and  although  some  of  the  peaks  of  the  H^'malayas 
are  higher  they  are  not  as  numerous  or  as  accessible.  There 
are  two  ranges  of  the  Andes  almost  parallel,  the  second  range 
being  known  as  the  Cordilleras  de  la  Costa,  which  follows  the 
coast  line  of  the  Pacific  from  Chile  to  Ecuador,  being  broken 
at  intervals  by  vast  deserts  and  being  irregular  in  direction 
and  in  sequence.  The  main  range,  which  is  the  backbone  of 
the  continent,  is  familiarly  known  as  the  Cordilleras.  The 
shorter  range  is  usually  referred  to  as  the  Andes. 

South  of  the  Straits  of  Magellan  are  two  peaks  rising  more 
than  7,000  feet  high  in  the  center  of  a  range  that  crosses  the 
archipelago  of  Tierra  del  Fuego.  By  some  prodigious  con- 
vulsion those  islands  were  separated  from  the  continent  and 
the  chain  was  broken  by  the  Straits  of  Magellan.  On  both  sides 
of  the  straits  the  mountains  rise  to  a  considerable  height 
and  are  covered  with  magnificent  glaciers.  Voyagers  passing 
through  the  straits  have  the  privilege  of  witnessing  some  of 
the  sublimest  scenery  on  earth.  Mount  Darwin  rises  6,600 
feet  and  Mount  Sarmiento  6,800  feet  directly  from  the  water, 
and  both  are  covered  with  ice  and  snow  almost  to  their  feet 
during  nine  months  of  the  year.  Commencing  there  the  Cor- 
dilleras run  northward  and  form  the  boundar}?-  line  between 
Chile  and  the  Argentine  Republic.  The  division  as  fixed  by 
W.  I.  Buchanan,  the  United  States  minister,  as  arbitrator,  is 
the  **cumbre"  or  crest  of  the  main  range  or  the  grand  divide 
— the  watershed  between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific.  The 
Cordilleras  de  los  Andes  continue  an  unbroken  range  to  the 

414 


THE   BACKBONE  OF  THE   CONTINENT       415 

Caribbean  sea  and  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  The  breadth  of 
the  base  in  Chile  is  from  twenty  to  one  hundred  miles,  a  single 
chain ;  in  Peru  and  Bolivia  it  widens  to  700  miles.  The  fork 
of  the  chain  occurs  near  latitude  40  in  the  state  of  Valdivia, 
Chile,  and  from  there  the  irregular  Cordilleras  de  la  Costa 
follow  the  shore,  sometimes  even  dipping  their  feet  into  the 
sea.  There  are  points  along  the  coast  of  Chile  where  the 
mountains  rise  as  high  as  8,000  feet  directly  from  the  water. 
These  two  main  ranges  at  intervals  are  united  by  transverse 
ranges  called  "bolsones,"  which  in  Spanish  means  the  rungs 
of  a  ladder,  and  some  of  them  have  peaks  with  an  elevation 
of  over  20,000  feet.  Between  these  titanic  buttresses  are 
elevated  plateaus  from  8,000  to  13,000  feet  above  the  sea, 
which  are  called  the  '*Puna,"  or  the  *' great  Andean  basins." 
and  are  the  most  populous  and  highly-cultivated  part  of  the 
continent. 

Bolivia  is  the  most  mountainous  country  of  the  world,  and 
that  portion  of  the  great  chain  known  as  the  Cordillera  de 
La  Paz,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Lake  Titicaca,  is  of  surpassing 
grandeur — a  colonnade  of  pure  white  summits,  extending 
more  than  150  miles  almost  in  a  direct  line.  No  other  group 
of  peaks  will  compare  with  them.  In  Ecuador  there  is  an 
irregular  cluster  of  extinct  volcanoes  which  rival  those  of 
Bolivia  in  beauty  and  picturesqueness,  but  lack  their  eleva- 
tions. In  Bolivia  the  twelve  peaks  of  the  Cordilleras  de  La 
Paz  rise  above  20,000  feet.  In  Ecuador  there  are  twenty 
volcanoes  in  a  single  cluster,  and  eighteen  of  them  are  covered 
with  perpetual  snow.  The  lowest  is  15,922  feet  in  height,  and 
the  highest,  Chimborazo,  reaches  an  altitude  of  22,500  feet. 
Three  of  the  volcanoes  are  active,  five  are  dormant  and  twelve 
are  extinct.  Eleven  of  the  peaks  have  never  been  reached  by 
any  living  creature  except  the  condor,  whose  flight  surpasses 
that  of  any  other  bird.  Cotopaxi  is  the  loftiest  of  active 
volcanoes,  but  it  walls  are  so  steep  and  the  snow  upon  its 
breast  is  so  deep  that  ascent  is  impossible. 

The  loftiest  mountain  in  the  Andes  is  in  dispute.  It  was 
formerly  Chimborazo,  in  Ecuador,  afterward  Illampu,  in 
Bolivia,   and  now  Aconcagua,  in  Chile;  but  the  controversy 


4i6    BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

cannot  be  settled  until  more  exact  measurements  are  made. 
Sir  Martin  Conway,  the  Irish  Alpine  climber,  made  an  ascent 
of  several  of  the  highest  peaks  in  Bolivia,  and  reported  the 
summit  of  Illampu  to  be  25,250  feet.  This  was  gratifying  to 
the  people  of  Bolivia,  but  after  he  went  to  Chile  and  climbed 
Aconcagua,  which  he  reported  to  be  23,200  feet  in  height,  he 
discovered  an  error  in  his  observations  on  Illampu  and  knocked 
off  2,000  feet  or  so,  so  that  the  pride  of  the  Chilanos  might  not 
be  wounded. 

Very  few  of  the  measurements  of  the  mountains  in  South 
America  are  accurate,  but  Professor  Bailey  of  the  Harvard 
observatory  at  Arequipa  has  collected  all  the  data  available, 
from  which  he  has  made  a  catalogue  of  288  peaks  over  lo^ooo 
feet  in  height  between  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  and  Cape 
Horn;  131  peaks  over  18,000  feet,  seventy-nine  over  19,000 
feet,  forty-two  over  20,000  feet,  six  over  21,000  feet,  thirteen 
over  22,000  feet  and  probably  four  peaks  over  23,000  feet. 
Sixty-eight  of  these  peaks  are  extinct  volcanoes  and  five  are 
active — two  in  Peru  and  three  in  Ecuador. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  peaks  found  by  Professor  Bailey 
to  be  more  than  20,000  feet  in  height: 

Aconcagua,  Chile 23,200  to  24,760 

Illampu,  Bolivia 21,286  to  25,250 

Illimani,  Bolivia 21,040  to  24,200 

Bahama,  Bolivia 23,014 

Coropuna,  Peru   .........     22,800 

Chipicana,  Boliva 22,687 

Apolobamba,  Bolivia 22,374 

Tupungalo,  Chile     ........     22,469 

.    Montenegro,  Chile 22,300 

Pallagua,   Bolivia 22,300 

Huascar,  Peru 22,051 

Parinacota,  Bolivia 22,078 

Huallatierra,  Bolivia 22,000 

Pomerape,  Bolivia 21,721 

Huayna  Potosi,  Bolivia 21,882 

Cachi,  Chile 21,685 

Misti,  Peru 20.467 

Mururata,  Chile 20,418 

Toroni,  Bolivia 20,316 


THE   BACKBONE   OF  THE  CONTINENT        417 

Acaquilcha,   Bolivia 20,250 

Iquima,  Chile 20,190 

Juncal,  Bolivia 20,181 

Choja,  Bolivia 20,000 

Coypasa,  Bolivia 20,000 

Cancoso,  Bolivia 20,000 

Nevadavegro,  Chile 21,685 

Calchaqui,  Chile 21,626 

Chimboazo,  Ecuador 21,611 

Llullaillaco,  Chile 21,654 

Angelpico,  Peru 21,215 

Pico  de  Tacora 21,252 

Mercedario,  Chile 21,300 

Castillo,  Chile 21,356 

Pular,  Chile 21,000 

Haundoy,  Peru 21,090 

Descabezado,  Chile 20,965 

Antofalla,  Chile 20,889 

Famitina,  Bolivia 20,650 

Panira,  Chile 20,735 

Viscachillas,  Bolivia 20,506 

Chachacomani,   Peru 20,355 

Callinsani,  Chile 20,530 

The  snow  line  varies  with  the  latitude  except  in  the  desert 
Atacama  in  sourthern  Peru,  where,  because  of  the  extreme 
dryness  of  the  atmosphere  and  the  infrequent  snowfalls,  the 
mountains  are  bare  at  elevations  of  19,000  and  20,000  feet.  El 
Misti,  at  Arequipa,  with  an  elevation  of  over  20,000  feet,  is 
often  entirely  free  from  snow,  and  the  north  side,  which  is 
continually  exposed  to  the  sun,  seldom  has  snow  on  it  for  more 
than  two  hours  at  a  time.  On  the  south  side  of  El  Misti  there 
is  usually  a  beautiful  cap  of  white. 

In  Colombia  the  snowline  is  about  14,000  feet;  in  Ecuador, 
near  the  equator,  about  17,000  feet;  in  Peru  and  Bolivia, 
about  15,000  feet,  and  in  Chile  from  13,000  feet  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Santiago  to  3,000  feet  at  the  Straits  of 
Magellan. 

On  the  Cordilleras  de  la  Costa  there  is  no  timber,  and  there 
is  very  little  on  the  western  slope  of  the  main  chain,  the  Cor- 
dilleras Real  (Royal),  as  they  are  sometimes  called.  On  the 
east  slope,  however,  the  timber  rises  directly  to  the  snow  line 


4i8   BETWEEN   THE  ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

and  one  may  often  stand  upon  a  glacier  and  gaze  into  a  valley- 
filled  with  tropical  vegetation. 

On  the  western  slopes  of  the  coast  line  there  is  no  vegeta- 
tion whatever,  except  here  and  there  in  a  narrow  valley  which 
can  be  irrigated.  In  the  Puna,  or  the  great  plateau  between 
the  two  ranges,  barley,  wheat,  corn  and  other  hardy  crops 
grow  at  an  elevation  of  13,000  feet.  Sheep  feed  to  the  snow 
line,  the  Alpaca  and  Vicuna  being  especially  fond  of  the  cold, 
bleak  mountain  sides,  where  a  feeble  tuft  grass  grows. 

The  Cordilleras  de  la  Costa  are  crossed  by  four  railways, 
one  from  Valparaiso  to  Santiago,  Chile;  the  second  from 
Antofagasta,  Chile,  to  Oruro,  Bolivia;  the  third  from  MoUendo, 
Peru,  to  Lake  Titicaca,  where  the  summit  is  reached  at  an 
elevation  of  14,666  feet  at  Crucero  Alto;  and  the  fourth  is  the 
famous  Oroya  road  in  Peru,  which  pierces  the  mountains  at 
the  Galena  tunnel,  15,665  feet  above  tide  water.  The  latter  is 
the  most  elevated  point  reached  by  a  railroad  or  where 
machinery  is  operated  by  steam. 

Since  Professor  Bailey  prepared  his  catalogue  there  has 
been  an  eruption  of  Calbuco,  which  is  listed  as  an  extinct 
volcano,  4,730  feet  above  the  sea  level,  in  latitude  41.21  south, 
near  the  northern  entrance  to  Smythe's  channel,  and  just 
south  of  the  city  of  Valdivia.  There  have  always  been  evi- 
dences of  previous  activity  of  the  crater  of  Calbuco,  but  no 
signs  of  activity  have  been  reported  since  the  arrival  of  the 
Spaniards  until  March,  1899,  when  clouds  of  smoke  were  noticed 
hovering  about  the  summit.  A  few  days  later  there  was  an 
eruption  of  great  violence,  and  a  rain  of  ashes  fell  upon  the 
country  around  about,  so  heavy  as  to  obscure  the  sun  and 
make  it  necessary  for  the  inhabitants  to  fly  from  their  homes. 
The  detonations  were  heard  for  at  least  one  hundred  miles 
distant,  but  there  was  no  earthquake.  Following  the  shower 
of  ashes  came  a  rain  of  hot  stones  and  lava,  which  continued 
at  intervals  for  several  days  and  destroyed  nearly  everything 
for  a  radius  of  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  around  the  base  of  the 
mountain.  The  harvest,  which  was  nearly  ripe,  was  ruined ; 
the  cultivated  ground  was  covered  with  ashes  and  stones,  the 
pastures  became  deserts,  the  springs  dried  up,  the  forests  were 


THE   BACKBONE   OF   THE   CONTINENT        419 

destroyed  by  fires,  and  the  inhabitants  were  compelled  to 
permanently  abandon  that  section  of  the  country.  Since  then 
the  eruptions  have  been  periodical,  but  slight. 

The  main  chain  of  the  Andes  has  never  been  crossed  by  a 
railway,  although  there  have  been  a  number  of  surveys.  Pro- 
fessor Bailey  has  made  a  list  of  the  passes  between  the  Isthmus 
and  the  Straits  of  Magellan  and  finds  that  there  are  123  places 
where  the  mountains  may  be  crossed  at  an  elevation  of  from 
2,756  to  16,047  ^Get.  There  is  no  pass,  however,  north  of 
Santiago,  Chile,  lower  than  11,000  feet,  and  when  you  get 
up  into  Bolivia  the  lowest  pass  is  that  of  Huesos,  13,573  feet 
above  the  sea.  For  the  last  twelve  years  a  scheme  has  been 
projected  to  build  a  line  of  railway  between  Santiago,  Chile, 
and  Buenos  Ayres,  and  the  track  has  already  been  laid  on 
both  sides  of  the  mountains  up  to  an  elevation  of  about  9,600 
feet,  where  it  is  proposed  to  construct  a  tunnel  eleven  miles 
long  through  the  crest  of  the  range  under  what  is  known  as 
the  "Uspallata"  pass  (12,700  feet),  over  which  travelers  are 
now  carried  in  coaches  between  the  termini  of  the  railways. 
Several  contractors  who  have  undertaken  the  work  have 
failed,  and  the  scheme  has  been  practically  abandoned  because 
of  the  discovery  of  several  better  passes  in  the  southern  part 
of  the  republic.  One,  in  particular,  at  Antuco,  about  200 
miles  south  of  Santiago,  permits  the  mountains  to  be  crossed 
at  an  elevation  of  6,890  feet,  and  at  the  Tinguirica  pass,  which 
is  about  seventy-five  miles  south  of  Santiago,  the  elevation  is 
only  10,500  feet.  A  company  has  already  been  organized  for 
the  construction  of  a  railway  over  the  Antuco  pass,  which 
offers  to  build  a  line  from  the  town  of  Tome,  across  the  bay 
from  the  city  of  Talcahano  (you  can  see  where  it  is  if  you  will 
look  at  a  map  of  Chile),  through  the  departments  of  Coelemu, 
Itata,  Chilan  and  Puchacai,  to  the  town  of  Chosmalal  in  the 
Argentine  territory,  where  it  will  meet  a  railway  now  under 
construction  from  Buenos  Ayres  and  cross  the  continent  780 
miles  to  the  port  of  Bahia  Blanca  on  the  Atlantic  ocean,  and 
1,180  miles  to  Buenos  Ayres. 

Extensive  surveys  have  been  made  and  revised  by  the 
department  of  public  works,  and  it  has  been  found  that  a  road 


420   BETWEEN   THE  ANDES   AND  THE   OCEAN 

360  miles  long,  crossing  the  mountains  through  a  tunnel  at  an 
elevation  of  4,980  feet,  can  be  built  for  about  $45,000  a  mile, 
or  a  total  of  about  $9,000,000,  with  a  two  and  one-half  percent 
grade.  The  cost  of  the  Uspallata  tunnel  is  estimated  at 
$11,000,000  alone,  so  that  the  advantage  of  economy  is  in 
favor  of  the  southern  route. 

People  now  cross  the  Uspallata  Pass  on  horseback  and  in 
coaches,  and  it  is  not  an  unpleasant  journey  during  the 
summer  months,  although  in  winter,  from  April  to  October, 
it  is  exceedingly  dangerous  on  account  of  the  heavy  snows  that 
come  on  suddenly  and  fill  up  the  roads  until  they  are  impass- 
able. It  is  now  a  journey  of  from  nine  to  twelve  hours 
between  the  termini  of  the  railways,  by  coach  or  a  good  saddle 
horse,  and  many  people  cross  in  thirty-six  hours  on  foot.  At 
intervals  along  the  journey,  low  cabins  of  heavy  stone  and 
cement  called  "casuchas,"  that  look  like  enormous  bake  ovens, 
have  been  erected  as  refuges  for  those  who  are  overtaken  by 
snow,  and  many  lives  have  been  saved  by  these  rude  but  sub- 
stantial shelters.  The  accommodations  along  the  route  are 
primitive  and  uncomfortable.  The  inns  might  be  excused  for 
their  lack  of  comforts  if  they  were  only  clean,  but  people  who 
are  accustomed  to  the  trip  arrange  to  start  very  early  in  the 
morning  so  as  to  arrive  on  the  other  side  the  same  night  and 
carry  their  provisions  with  them.  If  they  are  wise  they  take 
their  bedding  also. 

The  Cumbre,  the  dividing  ridge  between  the  Pacific 
watersheds  of  the  Andes,  and  the  highest  point  on  the  trail,  is 
12,795  ^^^t  above  the  sea,  and  there  is  always  a  gale  blowing. 
Travelers  are  usually  attacked  with  the  disease  known  as 
**sirroche,'*  in  the  northern  countries  of  South  America,  but 
called  "puna"  in  Chile,  which  is  due  to  the  rapid  ascent  from 
low  to  high  altitudes  and  the  rare  atmosphere.  The  symp- 
toms are  bleeding  at  the  nose  and  ears  and  often  the  lungs, 
and  a  terrible  nausea,  with  a  suffocating  feeling  in  the  head, 
but  nobody  ever  dies  from  this  cause  unless  the  heart  is  very 
weak  and  the  pressure  of  the  blood  upon  the  veins  causes  the 
bursting  of  a  blood  vessel.  The  only  danger  is  a  landslide 
which  may  bury  you  under  a  pile  of  earth  and  stone,  or  a  snow- 


THE   BACKBONE   OF   THE   CONTINENT        421 

storm  which  may  drive  you  into  a  casucha  and  keep  you 
there  for  a  week  in  a  cell  not  more  than  sixteen  feet  square 
without  ventilation  or  any  escape  for  the  smoke  from  the 
fire  which  is  absolutely  necessary  to  cook  your  food  and 
make  your  coffee.  Those  who  are  accustomed  to  the  saddle 
will  find  the  journey  more  comfortable  on  horseback  because 
the  roadway  is  not  well  kept  and  the  jolting  of  the  coach  is 
tiresome. 

It  is  said  that  Don  Ambrosio  O'Higgins,  the  father  of  the 
famous  Barney  O'Higgins,  the  liberator  of  Chile,  invented 
and  built  the  "casuchas"  when  he  was  inspector  of  highways 
before  the  independence  of  the  republic.  They  were  originally 
intended  for  the  mail  carriers.  Before  the  days  of  steam,  all 
mails  from  Europe  used  to  be  carried  over  the  mountains  by 
couriers  from  Buenos  Ayres  instead  of  taking  a  cruise  of 
indefinite  length,  often  three  or  four  months,  during  the 
stormy  season  around  the  Horn.  Even  now  there  is  a  gain  of 
from  six  to  eight  days  in  time  by  sending  the  mail  that  way 
instead  of  on  a  steamer  through  the  Straits  of  Magellan.  The 
couriers  go  in  threes.  One  carries  the  post  bag,  another  the 
provisions  and  the  third  the  blankets  and  extra  clothing  so 
that  they  can  assist  or  fulfill  the  ofiSce  of  either  in  case  he 
should  be  killed.  It  formerly  took  seven  or  eight  days  for  the 
mails  to  cross  from  Los  Andes,  the  principal  starting  place  on 
the  Chile  side,  to  Mendoza  in  the  Argentine  Republic.  Now  a 
mounted  courier  often  covers  the  distance  between  the  railway 
termini  in  seven  or  eight  hours.  There  has  been  no  serious 
accident  to  a  mail  carrier  since  August,  1881,  when  Victor 
Lagos,  and  Juan  Guerra  were  overtaken  by  an  avalanche.  In 
the  spring  their  bodies  were  found  under  an  enormous  snow- 
drift. In  July,  1880,  a  courier  named  Vidal  Toro  froze  to 
death  near  the  Bridge  of  the  Inca  with  the  thermometer 
twenty-four  degrees  below  zero. 

The  most  picturesque  part  of  the  journey  is  the  Puenta  del 
Inca,  where  there  is  a  natural  bridge  similar  to  that  in 
Virginia, — an  arch  of  stratified  shingle,  cemented  together  by 
deposits  and  petrifactions  from  the  hot  springs  which  bubble 
up  out  of  the  earth  in   the   neighborhood.      Their  overflow 


422  BETWEEN  THE  ANDES  AND  THE  OCEAN 

forms  the  river  Cuevas,  which  has  eaten  its  way  through  the 
shingle  and  falls  in  a  cascade  below.  The  bridge  is  sixty  feet 
high,  1 20  feet  wide,  and  varies  from  twenty  to  thirty  feet  in 
thickness.  The  bottom  is  covered  with  stalactites  and  in 
several  grottos  around  the  neighborhood  are  numerous  springs 
of  hot  water  containing  sulphur,  iron  and  other  minerals. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  this  bridge  existed  at  the  time  of 
the  Incas  and  was  a  station  on  the  great  highway  which  led 
from  Cuzco  north  and  south  to  the  limits  of  the  empire,  and 
it  was  over  this  road  that  the  tax  gatherers  passed  annually  to 
collect  the  tribute  due  their  sovereign.  The  last  collection 
was  made  in  1535  when  Don  Diego  de  Almagro,  the  partner 
of  Pizarro  in  the  subjugation  of  the  Inca  Empire,  left  Cuzco 
and  passed  south  to  conquer  Chile.  A  little  north  of  Jujuy 
he  met  the  officers  bearing  the  annual  tribute  to  Cuzco  and 
seized  a  portion  of  it.  The  remainder  is  supposed  to  have 
been  buried  near  the  Puenta  del  Inca. 

When  Almagro  went  to  Chile  he  was  accompanied  by 
Paulo  Tope,  a  brother  of  the  Inca,  and  Villac  Umu,  the  high 
priest  of  the  nation.  While  he  was  away  the  natives,  exasper- 
ated by  the  cruelty  of  the  Spaniards,  rose  in  rebellion  and 
besieged  Pizarro  and  his  companions  in  Guzco  for  seven 
months.  Almagro  followed  the  great  highway  of  the  Incas 
southward,  crossed  the  bridge,  and  trying  to  go  westward 
became  entangled  in  the  mountains,  the  dark  forests  and  long 
stretches  of  barren  plains,  without  shelter  from  the  blasts  that 
sweep  down  from  the  snows  of  the  Andes.  The  cold  was  so 
intense  that  many  of  the  soldiers  were  frozen,  others  went 
blind  from  a  disease  of  the  eyes  called  "surumpe,"  which  is 
caused  by  constant  exposure  to  the  glare  of  the  sun  upon  the 
snow.  The  Indian  allies,  who  came  from  a  much  warmer 
climate,  were  unable  to  endure  the  severity  of  the  Chilean 
winter,  and  many  died  from  cold  and  when  hunger  overtook 
them,  the  miserable  survivors  ate  the  dead  bodies  of  their 
countrymen.  It  was  one  of  the  most  melancholy  and  dis- 
astrous marches  on  record,  but  Almagro  finally  passed  over 
into  the  beautiful  valley  in  which  Coquimbo  now  stands,  and 
remained  in  camp  there  in  the  midst  of  one  of  the  richest 


THE   BACKBONE   OF  THE   CONTINENT        423 

garden  spots  on  earth  until  his  troops  could  recover  from  their 
unparalleled  exposure  and  fatigue.  Then  he  crossed  the 
desert  of  Atacama  to  Arequipa,  a  most  hazardous  undertak- 
ing. No  captain  of  this  generation  would  dare  attempt  it,  and 
it  is  a  wonder  that  Almagro  and  his  men  survived. 

It  is  probable  that  the  Incas  knew  of  the  curative  proper- 
ties of  the  springs  around  El  Puenta  del  Inca,  because  the  first 
Spaniards  to  arrive  mention  the  discovery  of  enormous  tambos 
or  hotels  which  had  been  erected  there  for  the  accommodation 
of  visitors,  and  one  especial  "tambillo"  intended  for  the  king 
and  his  court,  which  is  said  to  have  been  erected  during  the 
year  that  William  the  Conqueror  invaded  England. 

There  are  many  legends  concerning  this  picturesque 
locality.  One  of  the  stories  is  that  an  arriero,  or  mule  driver, 
going  over  the  bridge  one  day,  lost  one  of  his  animals  and 
followed  its  trail  into  the  mountains.  Three  or  four  miles 
from  the  bridge  he  was  surprised  to  see  a  man  seated  with  his 
back  against  a  rock  and  a  gun  beside  him  as  if  he  were 
enjoying  the  scener}\  As  he  made,  no  answer  when  addressed, 
the  arriero  laid  his  hand  on  his  head  which  immediately 
dropped  off  and  rolled  over  on  the  ground.  The  man  had 
been  dead  forty  years  and  the  body  was  partially  petrified. 
From  papers  found  upon  his  person  it  appeared  that  he  was 
an  officer  of  the  Spanish  Army  and  after  the  defeat  at  Maipo 
had  attempted  to  make  his  escape  across  the  mountains  to 
Mendoza. 

The  Inca's  bridge  was  at  one  time  the  headquarters  of  a 
famous  Italian  bandit  named  Farina  who  robbed  the  silver 
trains  that  passed  over  the  mountains.  After  he  had  suc- 
ceeded in  stopping  the  traffic  he  retired  from  the  business  and 
opened  a  hotel  in  Valparaiso.  Upon  his  identity  being  dis- 
covered he  escaped  to  Buenos  Ayres,  where  he  kept  a  gam- 
bling house  for  many  years  until  his  death. 

In  1879  a  young  merchant  of  Valparaiso,  named  Rafael 
Tapia  created  a  sensation  that  will  never  be  forgotten.  Being 
oppressed  by  financial  complications,  he  informed  his  wife  that 
he  must  visit  Buenos  Ayres  on  business,  and  after  a  tender 
farewell  of  his  family  he  started  upon  his  journey.     Having 


424   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

reached  the  Inca's  bridge  he  drew  his  revolver,  led  his  horse 
to  the  edge  of  the  precipice,  shot  the  animal  in  the  head  and 
watched  its  carcass  roll  down  the  rocky  slope.  Then  he 
unpacked  his  traveling  bag,  arrayed  himself  in  fresh  linen,  a 
white  tie,  white  gloves  and  full  evening  suit,  drank  a  bottle  of 
champagne  that  he  carried  in  his  bag,  and  then  shot  himself 
through  the  heart.  His  body  was  found  a  few  days  later  rest- 
ing comfortably  against  a  great  rock,  with  the  empty  bottle  on 
one  side  and  the  empty  revolver  on  the  other,  while  in  his 
pockets  was  a  formal  adios  to  all  his  friends  and  a  request 
that  they  would  remember  that  he  died  as  he  had  lived,  like  a 
gentleman.  He  was  buried  by  the  roadside  and  a  rude 
wooden  cross  now  marks  the  spot. 

The  scenery  on  the  journey  across  the  mountains  is  both 
picturesque  and  imposing  and  furnishes  splendid  views  of 
Aconcagua,  the  highest  mountain  in  America,  which  measures 
23,200  feet,  and  the  volcano  Tupungato,  which  is  22,015  feet 
in  height. 

The  proposed  tunnel  which  was  to  carry  the  railway  under 
this  pass  is  said  to  have  involved  the  most  complicated  engi- 
neering problems  ever  attempted.  The  railway  track  was 
brought  up  on  the  Argentine  side  by  a  series  of  "rack  sections.  *  * 
as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  first  tunnel,  called  El  Navaro,  which 
was  to  be  5,325  feet  long.  The  Quedebra  Blanca  was  then  to 
be  crossed  by  a  steel  viaduct,  which  would  carry  the  track  to 
the  second  tunnel,  known  as  Las  Cuevas,  which  was  15,195 
feet  long  and  showed  the  highest  elevation  on  the  line.  On 
the  Chile  side  the  mountains  fall  so  rapidly  that  it  was 
necessary  to  build  a  series  of  helicoidal  tunnels,  like  those  on 
the  Saint  Gothard  line  in  Switzerland,  describing  a  complete 
corkscrew  to  overcome  the  grade  in  a  series  of  tunnels  27,840 
feet  long  and  dropping  2,762  feet  in  that  distance. 

People  in  Chile  told  me  that  the  cunning  and  cruel  condor, 
which  used  to  carry  off  lambs  and  kids  and  even  children  and 
sweep  down  on  the  unwary  traveler  in  the  mountains,  is 
almost  exterminated.  This  tiger  of  birds  is  now  seldom  seen 
except  in  the  southern  ranges  of  the  Andes,  where  the  popula- 
tion is  sparse.     There  it  still  preys  upon  the  flocks  and  hen- 


THE   BACKBONE  OF  THE   CONTINENT        425 

roosts  and  is  dreaded  by  farmers  and  frontiersmen.  Some 
years  ago  the  congress  of  Chile  passed  an  act  declaring  the 
national  bird  a  public  nuisance  and  offering  a  bounty  of  $5, 
for  every  condor  killed.  This  reduced  the  number  rapidly  at 
a  cost  of  several  thousand  dollars  to  the  public  treasury,  and 
they  are  now  as  scarce  as  the  baldheaded  eagle  in  the  United 
States.  The  majority  of  people  of  Chile  have  never  seen  any- 
thing but  the  miserable  and  repulsive  specimens  that  are  kept 
in  the  zoological  gardens.  Condors  do  not  thrive  in  captivity. 
The  rare  atmosphere  and  the  low  temperature  of  the  mountain- 
tops  are  necessary  to  their  existence. 

Passing  over  the  Andes  on  muleback  or  in  a  railway  train, 
black  specks  in  the  sky  are  often  pointed  out  to  unsophisticated 
travelers  as  condors  "soaring  in  the  blue  empyrean,"  as  we 
read  in  the  old  geographies,  and  it  is  just  as  well  for  tender- 
feet  to  believe  what  is  told  them  and  enjoy  the  satisfaction  of 
having  seen  one.  You  occasionally  hear  prospectors  tell  of 
condors  haunting  the  mule  trails  in  the  interior,  waiting  for 
some  poor  exhausted  beast  to  lie  down  and  die.  They  are  said 
to  smeil  carrion  farther  than  it  can  be  seen.  No  doubt  a  mys- 
terious intuition  informs  them  when  animals  are  about  to  peg 
out,  but  scientists  insist  that  the  atmospheric  vibrations  make 
it  impossible  for  odor  to  be  conveyed  a  long  distance.  It  is  a 
fact,  however,  upon  which  everybody  agrees,  that  a  condor 
will  invariably  arrive  at  the  death  bed  of  a  mule  or  a  sheep 
before  the  victim  breathes  its  last,  but  it  will  always  remain 
out  of  range  as  long  as  human  beings  are  seen  in  the  neigh- 
borhood.    Although  the  old  song  says, 

**Next  comes  the  condor,  awful  bird, 
On  the  mountains'  highest  tops. 
Has  been  known  to  eat  up  boys  and  girls, 
And  then  to  lick  its  chops," 

condors  rarely  attack  children  or  any  other  human  beings. 
Hunters  who  were  working  for  the  bounty  used  to  kill  an  old 
mule  or  a  horse  and  then  lie  in  ambush  near  the  carcass.  To 
shoot  it  on  the  wing  is  entirely  out  of  the  question,  for  it  flies 
at  altitudes  such  as  no  other  bird  attains.  The  condor  hatches 
its  young  among  snow-covered  crags,  often  at  an  altitude  of 


426   BETWEEN   THE  ANDES  AND  THE   OCEAN 

20,000  feet,  and  can  endure  a  range  of  temperature  in  which 
human  existence  is  impossible.  It  is  equally  at  home  upon 
the  snowy  peaks  and  upon  the  burning  sands  of  the  Chilean 
deserts.  With  a  sweep  of  wing  from  nine  to  twelve  feet  in 
extent,  its  flight  is  so  swift  that  it  can  sail  out  of  sight  in  a 
very  few  moments.  Observers  have  timed  the  flight  of  a 
condor,  and  claim  that  it  is  superior  to  that  of  an  eagle. 

Poisoning  condors  is  said  to  be  impossible.  A  stomach 
that  will  relish  the  carrion  upon  which,  it  usually  feeds  is  said 
to  be  proof  against  poison. 

The  government  of  Chile  has  leased  the  Island  of  Juan 
Fernandez,  sacred  to  the  memory  of  Robinson  Crusoe,  to 
a  firm  of  Germans,  who  have  erected  a  canning  factory  and 
are  putting  up  fish,  lobster  and  crabs  for  South  American 
market.  They  also  have  herds  of  cattle  and  goats  on  the 
ranges,  and  ship  a  good  deal  of  fresh  beef  to  Valparaiso.  The 
goats  are  raised  for  their  skins  and  are  descended  from  the 
very  animals  that  furnished  food  for  Robinson  Crusoe. 

The  island  is  situated  about  400  miles  west  of  Valparaiso 
and  the  leasees  send  a  sailing  ship  back  and  forth  with 
regularity.  There  is  quite  a  town  at  Cumberland  Bay,  com- 
posed of  their  employees.  Occasionally  parties  of  sportsmen 
from  Chile  go  over  to  Juan  Fernandez  for  shooting,  and  it  is 
a  favorite  resort  for  naval  vessels  as  it  offers  a  good  opportunity 
to  give  the  men  liberty  without  exposing  them  to  the  tempta- 
tions of  city  life.  The  island  is  about  twenty-three  miles  long 
and  ten  miles  wide,  at  the  broadest  part,  and  it  is  covered  with 
beautiful  hills  and  lovely  valleys,  the  highest  peaks  reaching 
an  elevation  of  3,000  feet.  The  landscape  and  many  of  its 
topographical  features  are  correctly  described  in  the  story, 
but  Defoe  located  it  in  the  Caribbean  Sea  near  Trinidad.  The 
story  of  Robinson  Crusoe  follows  closely  the  experience  of 
Alexander  Selkirk,  as  related  by  him  to  Daniel  Defoe  after 
his  return  to  England. 

Selkirk  was  a  son  of  a  shoemaker  and  tanner,  a  man  of 
means  at  Largo,  Fifeshire,  Scotland,  and  was  born  in  1676. 
Being  a  wayward  boy  he  ran  away  from  home  and  took  to  the 
sea  in   early  life.     In  1701  he   was  sailing  master,  or  chief 


THE   BACKBONE   OF   THE  CONTINENT        427 

mate,  of  the  Cinque  Ports,  one  of  a  fleet  of  privateers  sent 
out  from  England  to  the  South  Seas  under  Captain  Damphier. 
After  the  death  of  Captain  Charles  Pickering,  who  was 
friendly  to  Selkirk,  Lieutenant  Thomas  Straddling  was 
appointed  to  command  the  vessel,  and  while  cruising  along 
the  shores  of  Mexico,  had  a  quarrel  with  his  first  mate  which 
grew  fiercer  and  fiercer  until  the  vessel  reached  Juan 
Fernandez,  where  Selkirk  was  marooned  for  mutiny.  He 
was  sent  ashore  with  his  sea  chest  and  all  of  his  effects,  and 
furnished  with  tools,  arms  and  ammunition  so  that  he  might 
sustain  himself.  The  shores  abounded  with  fish  and  the 
mountains  with  goats,  so  that  there  was  no  danger  of  star- 
vation, and  Selkirk  relates  in  his  journal  that  as  time  wore  on 
he  became  reconciled  to  his  situation  and  was  "Monarch  of 
all  he  Surveyed. "  The  faithful  Friday  was  a  Mosquito  Indian 
from  Nicaragua  who  had  been  abandoned  at  Juan  Fernandez 
by  the  captain  of  his  ship  who  landed  there  for  fresh  water 
and  fresh  meat  some  weeks  before  the  arrvial  of  the  Cinque 
Ports. 

In  1708  another  privateering  expedition  was  sent  out  from 
England,  composed  of  two  vessels  called  the  "Duke"  and  the 
"Duchess,"  under  the  command  of  the  same  Captain 
Damphier,  and  they  arrived  at  Cumberland  Bay  on  the  31st 
of  January,  1709.  Selkirk  had  been  forgotten  and  the  officers 
and  sailors  were  astonished  to  find  him  still  alive.  Several 
men  in  the  crew  had  sailed  with  the  Cinque  Ports  and 
remembered  distinctly  the  circumstances  under  which  he  was 
marooned.  Captain  Dover  of  the  privateer  "Duke,"  invited 
Selkirk  to  come  aboard  his  ship  and  offered  to  fit  him  out  with 
clothing.  On  the  recommendation  of  Captain  Damphier  he 
was  afterward  commissioned  as  mate  of  that  vessel.  Thus, 
after  a  residence  of  four  years  and  four  months  upon  the 
island,  Selkirk  was  rescued  by  the  same  man  who  deserted 
him  there.  His  remarkable  experience  seemed  to  have 
softened  his  temper  and  subdued  his  spirit  for  he  made  a 
good  record  and  maintained  good  discipline  during  the  rest  of 
the  cruise  and  assisted  in  the  capture  of  several  prizes-of-war, 
which  brought   the   officers  and  crew  of  the  "Duke"  prize 


4a8   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

money  to  the  amount  of  ;^i7o,ooo,  of  which  Selkirk  received  a 
large  share,  being  third  in  rank  on  the  vessel. 

At  the  end  of  the  cruise  he  returned,  a  rich  man,  to  his 
native  Largo  and  there  intended  to  spend  the  remainder  of 
his  life.  He  built  a  fine  house  and  a  boat,  and  spent  his  time 
sailing,  fishing  and  in  solitude  upon  which  cupid  intruded. 
Selkirk  fell  in  love  and  eloped  with  a  girl  by  the  name  of 
Sophie  Bruce,  but  the  marriage  did  not  turn  out  happily  and 
in  1817  he  entered  the  regular  navy  and  died  a  lieutenant  on 
board  the  frigate  "Weymouth,"  in  1723.  Several  years  later 
a  widow  named  Frances  Candis  came  to  Largo  to  claim  his 
property.  She  produced  documents  to  prove  that  she  had 
married  him  in  1720.  Selkirk  left  no  children  but  his  nephews 
and  nieces  were  numerous  and  their  descendants  form  a  large 
part  of  the  population  at  Largo,  in  Fifeshire,  where  his  sea 
chest,  a  cocoanut-shell  cup  which  he  used  at  Juan  Fernandez 
and  other  relics  of  his  exile  are  still  exhibited  to  travelers. 

During  his  stay  in  London,  Selkirk  was  a  frequenter  of  the 
coffee  houses  in  Fleet  street  and  it  was  there  that  Daniel  Defoe 
heard  his  story. 


XXVII 
SOUTHERN  CHILE  AND  TIERRA  DEL  FUEGO 

The  agricultural  part  of  Chile,  which  lies  south  of  Val- 
paraiso, is  being  rapidly  developed,  and  the  cities  of  Talca- 
huano,  the  principal  sea  port  and  Concepcion,  the  commerical 
metropolis  of  that  section,  are  full  of  enterprises  and  worthy 
of  the  pride  of  their  inhabitants.  These  and  other  cities  of 
southern  Chile  are  quite  as  much  up-to-date  as  the  correspond- 
ing agricultural  centers  in  the  United  States  and  are  growing 
as  rapidly.  There  is  a  considerable  impulse  to  immigration 
and  an  excellent  sort  of  colonists  is  coming  over  from 
Germany,  Norway,  Sweden  and  other  countries  in  the  north 
of  Europe.  Much  business  is  done  in  wool,  corn,  wheat  and 
flour.  The  commercial  enterprises  are  largely  German. 
Wheat  culture  is  increasing  rapidly  as  the  agricultural  colonies 
move  southward  into  the  colder  regions.  Modem  roller  flour 
mills  are  being  erected,  and  Chile  flour  is  now  sold  in  com- 
petition with  that  of  California  all  the  way  up  the  coast  as  far 
as  Panama.  Five  lines  of  European  steamers  touch  regularly 
at  Talcahuano  bringing  general  cargoes  and  carrying  back 
the  produce  of  the  country. 

Scientific  agriculture  is  making  greater  progress  in  Chile 
perhaps  than  in  any  other  American  country  perhaps  except 
the  United  States  especially  in  rural  economy,  arbor-culture 
viti-culture.  The  breeding  of  cattle  and  horses,  has  long  been 
one  of  the  most  important  and  profitable  industries,  and  is 
being  encouraged  by  private  associations  as  well  as  by  the 
government.  In  fact  all  branches  of  education  receive 
national  and  private  encouragement  in  Chile,  and  the  school 
system,  which  is  supported  from  the  tax  on  nitrate  is  no  doubt 
the  best  of  any  of  the  South  American  Republics.  The  late 
President   Balmaceda   made  a   hobby  of  public  schools  and 

429 


430   BETWEEN   THE  ANDES  AND   THE   OCEAN 

particularly  primary  education,  and  secured  the  passage  of  a 
compulsory  education  law,  which  was  enforced  with  con- 
siderable vigor  while  he  was  in  power.  The  University  of 
Santiago,  the  head  of  the  educational  system  of  the  country, 
has  from  twelve  to  fifteen  hundred  students  and  the  pro- 
fessional schools  are  well  kept  up  and  well  attended.  There 
is  no  country  in  the  world  where  the  upper  classes  are  so 
thoroughly  educated,  and  few  of  the  peons  are  illiterate.  In 
this  respect  Chile  is  far  in  advance  of  other  South  American 
Republics. 

Forty  miles  south  of  Talcahuano  and  connected  with  that 
city  by  railway  are  the  mining  towns  of  Lota  and  Coronel, 
where  Don  Matias  Cousino  opened  the  first  coal  mines  in 
South  America  in  1855.  The  coal  is  inferior  to  our  ordinary 
bituminous, — is  half  way  between  lignite  and  true  coal  and 
belongs  to  the  lower  tertiary  formation.  In  the  Lota  districts 
the  seams  run  under  the  sea  and  the  shafts  are  immediately 
upon  the  bluff  that  lines  the  shore  so  that  the  cars  that  enter 
the  pits  can  be  hauled  to  the  end  of  the  mole  and  dumped 
immediately  into  the  bunkers  of  the  steamers.  The  Lota  coal 
mines  have  an  annual  output  of  about  400,000  tons,  and  are 
operated  by  electricity,  the  power  being  obtained  from  a  water 
fall  about  six  miles  distant.  The  coal  is  hauled  out  from  the 
shaft  by  an  endless  chain  with  an  ingenious  arrangement 
designed  by  a  Belgian  engineer.  The  miners  are  mostly 
natives  and  are  well  treated.  The  towns  and  everything 
around  Lota  and  Coronel  including  several  large  smelters 
belong  to  the  Cousino  family  or  are  controlled  by  them. 

Some  of  the  finest  scenery  in  the  world  is  to  be  found  in 
Smythe's  Channel,  the  strait  or  sound  which  separates  the 
archipelago  of  southern  Chile  from  the  main  land;  but  the 
passage  is  dangerous  and  the  British  insurance  companies 
will  not  permit  steamers  to  go  that  way  owing  to  the  lack  of 
lighthouses  and  proper  charts.  The  German  steamers,  how- 
ever, usually  take  the  risk  much  to  the  advantage  of  their 
passengers,  who  not  only  are  able  to  enjoy  a  voyage  quite  as 
picturesque  as  that  through  the  famous  inland  Sea  of  Japan, 
but  escape  the  terrors  that  attend  the  passage  down  the  west 


SOUTHERN   CHILE  AND  TIERRA  DEL  FUEGO   431 

coast  below  Talcahuano  where  the  surf  is  always  high  and 
storms  are  frequent. 

A  lighthouse  has  recently  been  established  by  the  govern- 
ment of  Chile  at  Cape  Pillar,  the  western  entrance  to  the 
Straits  of  Magellan,  which  is  a  narrow  and  dangerous  passage, 
and  seldom  could  be  entered  at  night  until  this  improvement 
was  made.  Some  years  ago  the  steamer  on  which  I  was 
making  a  cruise  reached  Cape  Pillar  about  three  o'clock  in  the 
morning  and  was  compelled  to  slow  down  until  it  was  light 
enough  to  see  the  entrance.  In  the  meantime  a  terrible  gale 
came  on  which  drove  us  350  miles  out  of  our  course.  It  was 
four  days  before  we  got  back  to  Cape  Pillar  again.  Cape 
Pillar  is  a  rugged  barren  rock,  310  feet  high,  but  on  the  other 
side  the  peaks  run  up  to  4,350  feet. 

The  passage  through  the  straits  is  usually  attended  by 
rain,  mist  and  snow.  An  Irish  friend,  who  formerly  lived 
there,  while  describing  the  climate,  once  remarked  that  every 
rain  was  a  snowstorm.  The  latitude  of  the  Straits  of 
Magellan  is  about  53  south,  nearly  that  of  Sitka  or  Cape 
Farewell,  the  southernmost  point  of  Greenland,  and  Puenta 
Arenas  the  only  town,  has  a  climate  much  like  the  Klondike. 
There  is  little  vegetation  except  along  the  water's  edge  and 
the  snow  line  on  the  mountains  comes  down  nearly  to  the 
water,  while  dazzling  glaciers  of  bluish  green  ice  are  imbedded 
between  craggy  and  barren  hills  and  often  rise  to  the  crests 
of  the  mountains.  These  masses  of  ice  are  as  imperishable  as 
the  glaciers  of  Greenland,  and  add  a  feature  to  the  scenery 
that  is  not  found  elsewhere  within  the  ordinary  course  of 
steamers.  Our  vessel  tied  up  to  a  glacier  one  night  in  the  middle 
of  the  Straits  until  the  crew  had  chopped  enough  ice  to  fill  the 
refrigerators  and  last  until  it  arrived  in  England.  It  is  a 
region  of  marvelous  sunsets  as  well  as  rugged  scenery,  and  if 
one  were  always  sure  of  getting  clear  weather,  I  should 
recommend  the  voyage  to  everybody. 

The  Straits  are  ordinarily  about  as  wide  as  the  Hudson 
River  although  the  height  of  the  mountains  is  much  greater. 
Mount  Warden,  the  first  peak  to  be  seen  after  entering  at 
Cape  Pillar  is  4,360  feet  high.     Mount  Victoria  is  2,900  feet 


433    BETWEEN  THE  ANDES  AND  THE  OCEAN 

and  there  are  many  others  from  three  to  four  thousand  feet, 
with  Mount  Darwin  (6,600)  and  Mount  Sarmiento  (6,800) 
crowning  the  group. 

Mount  Sarmiento  stands  in  what  is  known  as  *'Cockburn 
Channel,"  not  far  from  the  Pacific,  and  on  clear  days  its 
summit  can  be  distinguished  from  the  decks  of  passing  ships. 
The  beauty  of  this  peak  is  much  enhanced  by  numerous  blue- 
tinted  glaciers,  which  descend  from  the  snowy  cap  to  the  sea, 
and  look,  as  Darwin,  the  naturalist,  who  once  saw  it,  said,  "like 
a  hundred  frozen  Niagaras." 

There  are  other  mountains  quite  as  beautiful  but  they  sit 
in  an  atmosphere  which  is  seldom  as  clear  as  that  which 
surrounds  Sarmiento  and  cannot  often  be  seen  by  voyagers. 
That  chain  of  mighty  granite  vertebrae,  which  extends  from 
Alaska  to  Cape  Horn,  and  forms  the  spinal  column  of  the 
hemisphere,  ends  in  grandeur  at  the  edge  of  the  antartic  circle. 
The  mountains  hug  the  Pacific  coast,  and  below  what  was 
once  the  southern  boundary  of  Chile,  they  seem  to  have  once 
been  shattered  by  a  convulsion,  in  which  mighty  masses  of 
rocks  were  thrown  off  into  the  ocean  to  form  the  numberless 
islands  that  compose  the  Patagonian  Archipelago.  The  same 
upheaval  broke  the  mountain  chain  and  left  Tierra  del  Fuego 
separated  from  the  continent  by  narrow  channels  of  water 
with  a  depth  to  which  the  plummer  has  never  reached,  forming 
a  safe  and  protected  passage  for  navigators,  for  whom  the 
incessant  tempests  of  Cape  Horn  possess  the  greatest  dread. 

The  only  town  in  the  Straits  of  Magellan  is  Puenta  Arenas, 
a  free  port  which  was  formerly  a  penal  colony  of  Chile,  and 
is  now  a  very  important  market  and  supply  point  for  the 
miners  of  Tierra  del  Fuego,  the  ranchmen  of  Patagonia  and 
for  passing  steamers.  It  has  a  population  of  about  12,000 
people  representing  all  the  tribes  and  races  of  mankind  and  it 
is  not  safe  to  ask  a  man  where  he  came  from  or  what  his  name 
was  before  his  arrival.  The  country  back  of  Puenta  Arenas  is 
pretty  well  taken  up  with  sheep  ranches  and  a  large  amount  of 
wool  is  shipped  to  Europe  from  that  place.  Although  the 
climate  is  severe,  the  sheep  seem  to  thrive  and  although  uncul- 
tivated, the  wool  is  of  excellent  quality.     A  large  trade  is  done 


SOUTHERN   CHILE   AND  TIERRA   DEL  FUEGO   433 

in  furs  and  skins  and  the  prettiest  things  to  be  bought  at 
Puenta  Arenas  are  ostrich  robes  made  of  the  breasts  of  young 
birds.  Seals  are  plenty  along  the  rocks  of  the  coast,  but  th^ir 
fur  is  not  so  good  as  that  of  the  northern  zones.  In  Patagonia, 
ostriches  are  not  bred  as  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  but  run 
wild  and  are  gradually  being  exterminated.  The  Indians 
chase  them  on  horseback  and  catch  them  with  a  bolas, — two 
heavy  balls  upon  the  end  of  a  rope,  woven  of  leather.  Grasp- 
ing one  ball  in  the  hand  they  gallop  after  the  ostrich,  and  whirl- 
ing the  other  ball  around  their  head  like  a  coil  of  lasso,  they 
let  go  when  near  enough  to  the  bird,  and  the  two  balls  still 
revolving  in  the  air,  if  skillfully  directed,  will  wind  around 
the  long  legs  of  the  ostrich  and  send  him  turning  somersaults 
upon  the  sand.  The  Indians  leap  from  their  saddles,  and  if 
they  are  out  of  meat,  cut  the  throat  of  the  bird  and  carry  the 
carcass  to  camp ;  but  if  they  have  no  need  of  food,  they  pull 
the  long  plumes  from  his  tail  and  wings  and  let  him  go  again 
to  gather  fresh  plumage  for  the  next  season. 

The  bolas  are  handled  with  great  dexterity,  and  well 
trained  Indians  are  able  to  bring  down  an  ostrich  at  a  range 
of  two  or  three  hundred  yards.  But  it  is  not  often  necessary 
to  fire  at  that  distance.  Horses  accustomed  to  the  chase  can 
overtake  a  bird  on  an  unobstructed  plain,  but  the  birds  have 
the  advantage  of  being  artful  dodgers,  and  carrying  so  much 
less  weight,  can  turn  and  reverse  quite  suddenly.  The  usual 
mode  of  hunting,  is  for  a  dozen  or  so  of  mounted  Indians  to 
surround  a  herd  and  charge  upon  them  suddenly.  In  this 
way  several  are  usually  brought  down  before  they  scatter,  and 
those  that  get  away  are  pursued.  As  they  dodge  from  one 
hunter  they  usually  run  across  the  range  of  another,  and  the 
first  they  know  they  are  tripped  by  the  entangling  bolas. 
People  passing  through  the  Straits  often  stop  over  a  steamer 
at  Puenta  Arenas  and  enjoy  an  ostrich  chase.  They  can  secure 
trained  horses  and  guides  at  moderate  prices;  but  one  who 
has  never  thrown  the  bolas  will  be  amazed  to  find  how  difficult 
it  is  to  do  a  trick  that  looks  so  easy. 

Some  years  ago,  a  young  English  lord,  who  went  down  to 
exterminate  the  ostrich  family,  came  very  near  being  lynched 


434   BETWEEN  THE   ANDES   AND   THE  OCEAN 

for  manslaughter,  as  the  first  bolas  he  threw  took  one  of  the 
half  breed  guides  under  the  ear  and  laid  him  out  as  cold  as  a 
wedge.  His  lordship  made  suitable  provision  for  the  family 
of  his  victim,  and  the  deceased  man's  partner  immediately 
took  up  with  the  bereaved  widow  without  the  formality  of  a 
wedding  ceremony;  the  bride  and  groom  omitted  the  usual 
period  of  mourning  and  appeared  to  be  much  gratified  at  the 
results  of  his  lordship's  visit.  Of  course  the  neighbors  were 
scandalized,  but  the  marriage  was  useful  in  diverting  public 
attention  from  the  accident,  and  the  reckless  scion  of  the 
nobility  slipped  away  to  Valparaiso  without  explaining  matters 
to  the  courts. 

In  the  harbor  of  Puenta  Arenas  lies  an  old  iron  hulk,  now 
used  as  a  coalyard  from  which  to  supply  passing  vessels, 
which  has  a  remarkable  history.  About  three  years  ago  a 
steamer  passing  through  the  straits  saw  a  vessel  drifting 
around  with  the  currents,  and,  not  receiving  any  reply  to  the 
signals  displayed,  sent  off  a  boat's  crew  to  ascertain  the 
trouble.  It  was  discovered  that  she  was  water  logged  and 
rudderless  and  without  a  soul  on  board  except  a  cat.  The  dis- 
coverers towed  her  into  Puenta  Arenas  and  anchored  her 
where  she  now  lies.  This  ocean  waif  turned  out  to  be  a 
collier  from  Scotland,  bound  for  the  west  coast  of  South 
America ;  and  it  is  supposed  that  she  was  abandoned  in  a  storm 
by  her  officers  and  crew  off  the  Horn,  and  that  they  all  per- 
ished, for  none  of  them  was  ever  heard  from.  The  vessel  had 
drifted  about  until  she  caught  the  current  which  pours 
through  the  Straits  at  the  rate  of  six  knots  an  hour,  and  was 
by  it  carried  into  smooth  water,  where  she  had  been  drifting 
like  a  log  no  one  can  tell  how  long.  According  to  calculations 
based  upon  the  date  of  her  departure  from  Cardiff  and  her 
ordinary  rate  of  speed,  at  least  six  or  eight  weeks  must  have 
elapsed  between  the  time  of  her  abandonment  and  that  of  her 
discovery.  The  cargo  of  coal  was  found  to  be  partially  under 
water,  but  in  good  condition,  and  her  captors  made  a  good 
thing  of  it. 

Tierra  del  Fuego  promises  to  be  another  Klondike,  although 
it  has  been  only  partially  explored,  and  the  climate  is  even 


SOUTHERN   CHILE   AND   TIERRA   DEL   FUEGO    435 

more  severe  than  that  of  Alaska.  Coal,  copper,  silver,  and 
other  minerals  have  been  found  in  great  abundance  but  the 
gold  deposits  are  so  easily  reached  and  worked  that  the 
prospectors  do  not  pay  much  attention  to  the  other  metals. 
Gold  was  first  discovered  by  some  shipwrecked  seamen  in  1876 
while  they  were  digging  for  water.  Strange  as  it  may  seem, 
one  can  often  find  fresh  water  by  sinking  a  pit  only  a  little 
distance  from  the  sea.  The  salt  seems  to  be  extracted  from 
the  sea  water  as  it  filters  through  the  sand,  and  those  sailors 
knew  the  trick.  When  they  had  digged  a  hole,  about  three  feet 
deep,  they  reached  a  strata  of  black  sand  that  sparkled  with 
particles  of  gold  and  traced  it  down  under  the  beach  out  into 
the  ocean.  When  the  party  were  rescued  and  carried  their 
story  to  Puenta  Arenas,  it  created  great  excitement,  and  a 
village  of  about  120  miners  of  all  nations  soon  sprang  up  near 
the  spot.  It  was  found  that  this  layer  of  black  sand  extended 
some  distance  back  from  the  beach  and  under  the  waters 
where  it  could  only  be  reached  at  low  tide  or  by  sinking  a 
cofferdam.  The  washings  paid  ordinary  miners  with  primitive 
appliances  from  fifteen  to  twenty  dollars  a  day,  but  after  a 
time,  the  yield  began  to  fall  off  and  most  of  the  miners 
deserted  the  place  to  look  for  other  deposits.  Some  of  them 
starved  to  death;  some  were  frozen;  others  were  killed  by 
the  Indians,  and  a  few  returned  to  Puenta  Arenas  with  dis- 
tressing stories  of  their  experience,  which  had  the  effect  of 
subduing  the  gold  excitement. 

In  1884,  the  steamer  Arctic  went  ashore  near  Cape  Virgin 
at  the  eastern  end  of  the  archipelago  and  the  crew  and  passen- 
gers, who  managed  to  save  themselves  and  sufficient  provisions 
to  sustain  them  for  some  time,  discovered  similar  deposits 
near  the  beach  in  banks  composed  of  layers  of  clay,  pebbles, 
sand  and  shells.  When  they  reached  civilization,  they 
exhibited  a  large  quantity  of  gold  and  their  adventures  having 
been  reported  to  the  Argentine  Government,  a  commission  of 
mineralogists  was  sent  down  to  explore.  Upon  their  reports  a 
company  was  organized  which  has  since  been  working  with 
fair  profits  at  a  place  called  El  Paramo  (the  Spanish  term  for 
desert).     With    that    camp    as    a    center,  prospectors   have 


436   BETWEEN   THE   ANDES   AND   THE   OCEAN 

explored  the  bleak  country  and  have  found  other  large  deposits 
of  gold  bearing  black  magnetic  sand,  similar  to  those  de- 
scribed. Mining  camps  have  been  established  at  Lenox 
Island,  Slogget's  Bay  and  at  several  other  places,  and  con- 
siderable gold  is  brought  into  Puenta  Arenas  which  is  the 
market  and  outfitting  point,  and  the  only  source  of  supplies. 
It  is  believed  that  the  gold  was  washed  down  from  the 
mountains  by  the  streams,  but  the  mother  veins  have  never 
been  discovered,  because  of  difficulties  that  are  too  great  to 
be  overcome.  The  mountains  and  hills  are  covered  with 
heavy  snow  the  greater  part  of  the  year;  the  cold  is  intense; 
storms  are  frequent  and  the  Indians  are  hostile  and  savage. 
There  is  probably  no  mining  country  on  earth  where  such 
serious  difficulties  are  encountered. 

The  Firelanders,  as  the  inhabitants  of  the  Tierra  del  Fuego 
are  familiarly  known,  are  among  the  lowest  and  most  degraded 
of  human  beings,  resembling  the  Digger  Indians  in  their 
mental  and  moral  condition.  Although  living  in  a  perpetual 
winter,  they  wear  little  clothing,  and  live  entirely  upon  fish 
and  the  flesh  of  sea  animals  which  they  catch  with  rude 
implements.  They  divide  their  time  between  canoes,  or 
dugouts  made  of  the  trunks  of  trees,  in  which  they  paddle 
through  the  Straits,  and  rude  huts  sheltered  from  the  fierce 
winds  by  the  rocks  in  the  mountains.  When  night  comes  they 
go  ashore  and  build  fires  to  temper  the  frigid  atmosphere, 
and,  seeing  them  blazing  over  the  archipelago,  the  early 
navigators  called  it  Tierra  del  Fuego,  the  land  of  fire.  Bishop 
Stirling  of  the  Church  of  England,  an  energetic  and  patient 
man,  who  has  charge  of  the  diocese  of  South  America,  and 
whose  genial  face  is  familiar  throughout  Brazil,  and  the 
Argentine  Republic,  as  well  as  the  countries  of  the  west  coast, 
has  been  working  for  thirty  years  among  these  depraved 
creatures  with  no  great  success.  At  least  one  of  his  missionary 
parties  was  eaten  by  the  subjects  of  their  prayers,  and  another 
party  came  to  a  tragic  end  by  starvation.  Bishop  Stirling 
himself  has  5had  narrow  escapes  from  the  appetites  and 
passions  of  his  parishioners,  but  still  believes  the  Fuegans  are 


SOUTHERN   CHILE   AND   TIERRA   DEL   FUEGO    437 

within  the  reach  of  saving  grace  and  is  patiently  trying  to 
civilize  them. 

The  Araucanian  Indians,  the  native  race  of  southern 
Chile,  have  never  been  subdued  by  the  whites  and  are  much 
superior  in  every  respect  to  the  Fuegans.  The  government 
has  attempted  to  absorb  and  assimilate  them  in  a  manner  that 
has  been  remarkably  successful.  The  land  they  occupy  is 
divided  among  them  in  severalty,  their  hereditary  chiefs 
have  been  made  their  magistrates  and  they  are  now  almost 
entirely  engaged  in  agricultural  and  pastoral  pursuits.  They 
retain  their  language  and  many  of  their  aboriginal  customs 
and  have  been  greatly  demoralized  by  the  unrestricted  sale 
of  liquor,  but  are  improving  continually  and  advancing  towards 
civilization  more  rapidly  than  any  other  of  the  native  races  in 
South  America. 

Patagonia  is  pretty  well  settled  and  civilized.  The 
aborigines  are  either  extinct  or  have  been  amalgamated  with 
the  remainder  of  the  population.  The  greater  part  of  the 
men  are  in  the  army  and  the  women  have  been  distributed 
through  the  country  as  servants.  The  Argentine  government 
has  given  special  attention  to  the  development  of  that  part  of 
its  territory  with  remarkable  success. 

^  OF    THK  '  r 

UNIVERSITY 
^lCALIFOn!S> 


THE    END 


INDEX. 


55 


390 
,  81 
312 
251 
328 
421 

415 
421 
415 


FAGE 

Agriculture  in  Bolivia .     .     .    .     282 
"             Chili      ....    429 
"              Peru     .     .     .96,  225 
"       on  Isthmus  of  Pan- 
ama     

Alameda,  Santiago  .  . 
Alfaro,  President  Ecuador 
Alonzo,  President  Bolivia. 

Alpaca,  wool 

Anderson,  Thomas  H. 
Andes,  Avalanches  in .  . 
"  Description  of 
*'  Passes  in  ...  .  419, 
"  Peaks  of  .  .  222,  387, 
• '  Railways  in  .  , 
52,  195,  204,  218,  286,  323,  384,  417 
Andes,  Snow  line  of  .  ...  417 
"       Tunnels  in  ...    .  196,  424 

Arucanian  Indians 437 

Arbitration  between  Chile  and 

Argentina 406,  410 

Arce,  President  Bolivia    .     .     .     327 
Arequipa  and  Puno  Railroad    .     219 

Arequipa,  City  of 235 

Argentine-Chile  Boundary    406,  414 
Argentina,     Religious     Contro- 
versy   174 

Aristocracy,  Bolivia     .     .     ,     .     310 

Chile 394 

Arica,  Town  of 353 

Armstrong,  Miss  Clara    ...     174 

Army  of  Chile 395 

Peru 157 

Antofagasta,  City  of    ...     .     369 


PAOR 

Bahama  Archipelago  ....        4 

Bailey,  Prof.  Solon  1 238 

Balmaceda,  President  of  Chile  .  409 
Balsas  (boats),  Peruvian  .  .  66,  270- 
Baltimore  Affair  in  Chile  ,  .  410 
Bandelier,  Prof.  Adolf     ...     275 

Beggars  in  Chile 401 

Blaine,  Relations  with  Chile  .  410 
Bolivia,  Complications  with  Chile  407 

Boynton,  Paul 106 

Bridge,  The  Inca's 421 

Bull  Fight,  Bolivia 303 

Cacao  (chocolate).  Cultivation  of  55 
Caceras,  President  Peru  .     .    .     136 

Callao,  City  of 103 

Callaguayas  (Indian  doctors)  .  338 
Camaano,  President  of  Ecuador    83 

Canal,  Panama 13 

Candamo,  Seiior,  Peru     .     .     .     130 

Capitol  Bolivia 311 

Caro  Chico,  Bullfighter  ...  305 
Casapalca,  Mines  and  Smelter .     196 

Cats  in  Bolivia 293 

Cathedral,  Lima 112 

Cemeteries 67,  161 

Cerro  de  Pasco"  Mines  ....  202 
Cinchona  (quinine)      ....     346 

Chagres  River 14 

Chile,  Agriculture  in    ...     .     429 
"       Argentine  Boundary  .  406,  414 

"      Coal  Mines 430 

"       Educational  System  .     .     429 
"      Peru  Complications    .     .    407 


439 


440 


INDEX 


PAGE 

Chile,    Relations    with    United 

States 408 

Chile,  Revolution  of  'gi    .     .     .  409 

"      Wealth  of 408 

Chicha  (liquor) 232 

Chillalaya,  City  of 279 

Chimborazo,  Mountain     ...  42 

Chiriqui,  Colony 12 

Church  in  Peru  ......  159 

Climate  of  West  Coast      .      9,  31,  42 

Bolivia 295 

Coal  on  Isthmus  and  West  Coast 

27,  100,  430 

Coati,  Island  of 273 

Cocoa,  Use  of 347 

Cocos,  Island 38 

Coffee,  Bolivia 345 

Colon,  City  of 5 

Columbus,  Landing  Place    .     .  3 

Commerce  of  Bolivia   .     .     .     .  279 

Chile 376 

"            Ecuador      ...  73 

*'            Peru 144 

"            Nitrate  Regions  .  360 

Commercial  Travelers      ...  78 

Condor,  The 425 

Congress  of  Peru 146 

Copocabana,  Shrine  of     .     .     .  329 

Cordilleras  de  Los  Andes     .    22,  414 

Cotopaxi 92 

Cotton,  Peruvian 98 

Crucero  Alto,  Town  of     ...  23 1 

Crusoe,  Robinson.  Island  of      .  426 

Customs,  Bolivian 296 

Cousino 390 

Cumbre  of  Andes 420 

Cuzco,  City  of 253 

Darwin,  Mount 414 

Deserts,  Peruvian 

42,  98,  206,  222,  231 

Drummers  in  South  America    .  78 

Drunkenness  in  Chile  ....  399 

Dudley,  Irving  D 112 

Dueling 161 


PAGE 

Earthquakes 64,  104 

Education  in  Peru 153 

"  Ecuador.    .     .   61,    87 

"  Chile 429 

"  Bolivia    ....     343    t 

Egan,  Patrick,  Minister  to  Chile  409i|j 

Eten,  Town  of 95 

Errazuriz,  President  of  Chile    .    406 

Farming  in  Bolivia 282 

Chile 393 

Finances,  Chile 379 

"          Ecuador 90 

"         Peru 139 

Firelanders  (Tierra  del  Fuego)  436 

Fortune  Island 5 

Funerals  in  Peru 117 

Galapagos  Islands 49 

Gallera  Tunnel 196 

Gold  Mining  in  Tierra  del  Fuego  435 

Grau,  Admiral 107 

Guanaco 250 

Guano 215 

Guayaquil,  City  of  .     .     .     .    4.6,    62 
Guayas  River,  Ecuador    ...      46 

Harmon,  Archer,  Ecuador  Rail- 
way      52 

Harrison,  President,  and  Chile  409 
Hartford,      Charles,      Treasure 

Hunter    . 40 

Harvard  Observatory,  Peru    .     238 

Hats,  Panama 74 

Hatteras,  Cape,  Weather     .     .        2 

Highways,  Inca 259 

Holidays  in  Chile 399^ 

Homes,  Bolivia 291 

Horses,  South  American  .      353,  402 

Huanchaca  Mines 323 

Humboldt  Current 43 

Inca  Remains     .     .     .    200,  206,  267 

"     Traditions 267 

Indians  of  Bolivia      .     .     .     313,  344 


INDEX 


441 


PAG£ 

Indians  of  Ecuador  .        .     .    53,    59 
Tierra  del  Fuego    .    436 

Irrigation,  Peru 200 

Iquique,  Town  of 369 

Island  of  Titicaca 269 

Isthmus,  Voyage  from  New  York      i 
Itata  Controversy 409 

Juan  Fernandez,  Island  of  .    .    426 

Labor,  Scarcity  of 156 

Lake  Titicaca 227 

La  Paz,  City  of 287 

Lima,  City  of no 

Llama  Transportation     ...     245 
Lotteries 169,  181 

Meiggs,  Henry 195,  204 

Mining  in  Peru 203,  261 

"         Bolivia 321 

"         Tierra  del  Fuego .     .    432 

Misti,  Volcano 220,  235 

Mollendo,  Town  of 218 

Monasteries 184,  290 

Monks,  Descalzos 180 

"    Franciscan 186 

Money,  Ecuador 90 

"         Peru 139 

Chile 379 

Moreno,  President  of  Ecuador  .      82 
Mountains  of  South  America  46.  415 

Mummies'  Eyes 356 

"         Inca 213 

Navassa  Island   ....*.  4 

Navy  of  Chile 395 

Nitrate  Deserts 359 

North,  Col.,  Nitrate  King    .     .  365 

Nunneries,  Bolivia 290 

Nunez.  President  of  Colombia  .  10 

Opera  in  Chile 399 

Oroya  Railroad 195 

Ostriches,  Patagonia  ....    433 


PAOB 

Pacasmayo,  Town   of.     .    .    .  10 1 

Pacific  Current 42 

Pachacamac,  Inca  Ruins      .    .  206 

Paita,  Town  of 95 

Pampas  of  Peru 222 

Chile 358 

Pando,  President,  Bolivia    .     .  313 

Panama,  City  of 24 

Hats 74 

"        Railroad 7 

Canal 13 

Pardo,  President,  Peru    .     .     .  130 

Passes  of  Andes 419 

Patagonia  Sheep 432 

"          Ostriches    ....  433 
Peaks  of  Andes    42,  92,  222,  387,  415 

Pearl  Fishing 34 

Penitentiary  of  Peru    ....  177 

Penny  Romance,  The      .     .     .  327 

Peru-Chile  Complications     .     .  407 

Petroleum,  Peru 99 

Pierola,  President  of  Peru   .  128,  150 

Pillar  Cape      . 431 

Pisco  Wines 214 

Piura,  Town  of 98 

Pizarro's  Expedition    .... 

26,  98,  III,  207,  353 

Politics,  Bolivian 311 

Population  of  Bolivia  ....  343 

Potato,  Native  of  Peru    ...  114 

Potosi,  Mines  of 323 

Pratt,  Captain  Arthur ....  108 

Prestan,  Revolution,  Panama  .  10 

Protestant  Worship,  Peru    .     .  163 

Puenta  del  Inca 421 

Punta  Arinas,  Town  of    .    .     .  432 

Puna,  The 41S 

Quesada-Miro,  Antonio    .    .    .  142 

Railways  in  Andes 

52,  195,  204,  218,  286,  323,  384,  417 

Railroad,  The  Panama    ...  7 

Rainfall,  Panama  and  Colon    .  9 

•*        Peru  and  Chile  .    .    .  356 


442 


INDEX 


PAGB 

Religious  Customs  .  .  .  67,  8 1,"  97 
III,  122,  169,  193,  242,  298,  330,  337 
Religion,  Inca  .  .  .  211,  233,  269 
Resources  of  Bolivia  ....  342 
Revenues  of  Peru-   .     .     .     .     .     143 

"  Chile 379 

•'  Ecuador  ....       90 

Revolution  in  Bolivia  .     .     .     .     312 
"  Chile      ....     409 

'•  Colombia  ...       10 

"  Ecuador     .     .    67,    84 

♦•  Peru      ....     127 

Rimac  River 197 

Roads,  Royal,  Inca    ....     259 
Roca,  President,  Argentine  Re- 
public       175 

Romana,  President,  Peru     .     .     128 

Rosa,  Saint .191 

Roundtree,  Captain     .     .     .    11,    30 

Rubber  Forests 345 

Ruins,  Inca     .    .     206,  253,  271,  275 


St.  James,  Miracles  of 

Salt 

Santa  Lucia,  Park,  Santiago 
Santo  Domingo  Mines 
Sarmiento  Mount  .  .  . 
Scenery,  Peru  .... 
Selkirk,  Alexander  .  .  . 
Sharks,  Panama  Harbor  . 
Sheep  in  Patagonia  .  . 
Shipping,  West  Coast  .  . 
Silver  Product,  Peru  .  . 
"  "         Bolivia     . 

Siroche,  Disease  .  .  . 
Smythe's  Channel  .  .  . 
Snow  Line  in  Andes  .  . 
Society  in  Lima  .... 
Soda,  Nitrate  of .  .  .  . 
Southern  Railroad  of  Peru 
Steamship  Communications 


4i4> 


199. 


215 

114 
388 
261 
432 
200 
426 
32 
432 
363 
215 
321 
420 
430 
417 
117 
367 
219 
376 


Storms,  Chile 371 


PAGE 

Straits  of  Magellan     .     .     .414,  430 

Sucre,  City  of 315 

Surumpe,  Disease 42s 

Tarapaca  Desert 4c 

Temperature  .     .     .    .  9,  31,  42,  229 

"  in  Bolivia    .     .     .     295 

Thomdike,  John  L.      .     .     .  219,  371 

Tierra  del  Fuego 431 

Titicaca,  Lake 26J 

Tovar,  Archbishop       .     .     .  122,  i6c 

Transportation,  Bolivia    ...     27c 

•'  Peru  .     .     .     .     24J 

Tunnels  in  Andes  .    .     .     .196,  424 

United   States,    Relations  with 

Chile 408*- 

University  of  Peru 155 

Uspallata  Pass 420 

Valparaiso,  City  of 371 

Verrugas,  Bridge  and  Disease .     198 

Vicuna 250 

Volcanoes  in  Andes  .  .  42,  92,  418 
Vin  del  Mar,  Town  of .  .  .  .  385 
Voyage  on  Pacific 42 

Wages  in  Chile 401 

Water  in  Desert .  .  42,  96,  220,  364 
Watling's      Island,      Columbus 

Landfall 3 

Weather  on  Pacific  Ocean  .  .  42 
Wheelwright,  William    .     .     28,  375 

Witchcraft  in  Peru 103 

Women  of  Bolivia     .     .    .     299,  300 

Peru 118 

Wood,  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  B.     .163 

Yellow  Fever 32 

Zona  Seca 42 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


